And Where the Road Then Takes Me
by DracoMalfoy456
Summary: Bilbo Baggins is in quite a predicament. After losing everything he ever owned to greedy Kings and corrupt businessmen, he must find a way to support himself in an ever changing world. After getting a job offer from a Grey Wizard, Bilbo finds himself on an aging farm, surrounded by rambunctious and sullen men, facing troubles far too big for a small, simple man.
1. A Decision

A/N: Hello! I see you decided to click on my story. Thanks for that. Anyway, this is my first work for the Hobbit, so I'm hoping I don't completely ruin the characters.

Just a brief background for the story, so you don't get too confused while reading this. Everyone, except for Gandalf, is human. Middle Earth is smaller/less wild than it is in canon, and is unified under a single ruling king. Thorin and his company work on a farm which Thorin technically owns. And that's about all you need to know that isn't covered in this first chapter or the following chapters. If you're confused on anything, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to answer.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to tell me what you think! I'd like to get at least one comment, to know if anyone is interested in this plot, or if I should just not bother. So if you like the story, be sure to leave a comment. Enjoy.

General Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything is owned by J.R.R. Tolkien or Peter Jackson. Some of the dialogue used in this first chapter comes from the first Hobbit movie/ the book. The only thing I own is the plot.

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Bilbo Baggins would be the first to tell you that he was not a fan of change. He spent his entire life living comfortably in his parent's home, carefully tending the horses and walking amongst his father's garden. Even after his mother and father's deaths he kept to much the same schedule. Wake, tend to the horses, read his numerous books, make breakfast, clean the house... And he would have comfortably lived this life for the rest of his days, had it not been for the fact that comfortable living does not pay the bills.

See, Bilbo Baggins came from a very wealthy family. Old money, if you will. He had never, in his life, had to worry if his money would be there or not. It wasn't that he was a greedy miser, no. He just knew for as long as he had lived that he had money, and never thought that he would ever be without it. His parents had taught him to be very cautious in his spending, you see. But that caution did not take into account greedy kings and corrupt business people. Before he knew it, all his money had been taken and though he tried to fight it, there was nothing much a simple man could do, not one who was labeled a recluse and bizarre by his neighbors. Soon after he lost his money, his house had been taken, leaving him with only the clothes on his back and a few specific items he had managed to secret away before the Men had come to take everything away. All in all, it had not been a good month for him. No money, no job, and no place to live.

And this is how Bilbo had found himself inside a seedy pub in Bree, drinking an ale he couldn't quite afford, but sorely needed.

Bilbo stared into his mug of ale, bigger than any mug he'd ever seen before, brooding slightly over his current predicament. He had always been a happy fellow, but he mused that even the happiest man alive would brood if all his worldly possessions had been all but stolen from him. He took another sip of his bitter drink, wincing slightly at the sour taste. He'd never been one for ale, preferring a good smoke, but his pipe had rather unfortunately been one of his 'repossessed' possessions. He let out a small snort. 'Repossessed' his feet.

In his brooding, Bilbo never noticed the shadow that covered his table, nor the large figure that caused it, until he heard a loud voice speak, startling him greatly.

"Bilbo Baggins. Why, I'd never thought I'd see you in here." The old sounding voice said, causing Bilbo to jump, heart racing. Looking up quickly, he saw a most peculiar sight. A giant Man loomed over him, wearing a grey, aging robe with a similar grey tattered hat. His face was wizened with a long grey beard covering it. Even though every man he had ever met seemed giant to him, as he was rather short, this one seemed even taller than any man he'd met thus far. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel slightly intimidated, though he forced his heart to stop racing and a smile to come come to his face.

"Good morning. May I, uh... Help you?" Bilbo asked, his polite upbringing dictating his politeness, but his nervousness causing his slight hesitation. It did not help that the Man looked down at him with a slight frown.

"Good morning? What do you mean?" The Man asked, with a raised eyebrow. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"

"Uh... All of them at once, I suppose." Bilbo said, feeling very perplexed and ill at ease. There was something about this Man that made the hair stand up on Bilbo's arms, something that screamed power and control. But there was also a vague familiarity that puzzled him.

The Man continued to stare at him, and just as Bilbo was about to say something, anything to make the uncomfortable moment go away, the Man smiled, and took a seat across from him.

"You certainly have changed, Bilbo Baggins." How he knew his name, Bilbo had no clue. Bilbo was starting to feel very put off by this Man and wanted to run as far away as he could, but something kept him rooted to his seat. Fear or curiosity, he did not know. "Sitting here, nursing a pint of ale... Definitely not the man I remember."

Bilbo felt a flash of irritation flood him. Who was this Man to judge him? He just lost everything he held dear in his life, he deserved a chance to feel self-pity, thank you very much.

"Well, I don't know who you think you are, but I would like it very much if you would keep out of my business. I just lost my home and am feeling decidedly not myself at the moment, so I think I deserve a chance to be left in peace, without someone telling me who I am or who I am not acting like." Bilbo said crossly, frowning deeply at the Man. Had he not had over half his pint of ale, he would never have found the courage to say such rude things, but at the moment he couldn't find it in him to care.

The Man's smile widened and he let out a small chuckle, as he waved to a bar maid for his own pint. "Well, that's a bit more like it, I think. Good to see you still have your fight, Bilbo, because you're going to need it."

Well that's not ominous, Bilbo thought sullenly. This Man was really starting to get on his nerves. He just wished the Man would leave him alone with his misery. And he still didn't know how the Man knew his name.

"You speak as if you know me. Well, I beg your pardon, but I do not recall seeing you at all, let alone long enough for you to know how I do or do not act. Who are you? How do you know me?" Bilbo inquired a few moments later, staring narrow eyed at the Man across from him, whose drink had finally arrived and was presently taking a long sip from.

Long seconds passed as the Man turned his focus onto Bilbo once more, a small frown back on his face, making him look even more ancient. Bilbo felt his breath catch in his throat, wanting nothing more than to run and hide away from that intense stare, suddenly feeling very small indeed. At last, the Man turned away with a small scoff.

"Well, Mister Baggins, you will find that you do, indeed, know me. You just don't remember. I used to know your mother, one Belladonna Took. Adventurous young lass, until she settled down to start a family. I used to visit the Shire when you were young. If you think, you may even recall my name." The Man finished, looking inquiringly at Bilbo. Bilbo just frowned, thinking back to his childhood, but still not able to recall just who this strange Man was. So he just shook his head, making the Man's frown deepen.

"Why, I am Gandalf! And Gandalf means me."

All of a sudden a memory of a midsummer's day as a child flooded his mind, laughing and carefree as fireworks exploded all around. He looked at the Man, or should he say Wizard, with new eyes.

"Gandalf? Not Gandalf, the wandering wizard who made such excellent fireworks? Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve!" Bilbo exclaimed, feeling much better about this whole situation. Now that he did, in fact, know his conversation partner, he felt more on even ground.

Gandalf smiled at Bilbo, and nodded slightly. "Well, I am pleased to find you remember something of me, even if it is only my fireworks."

"What are you doing here, then? It's been ages since I saw you last. I was still a child then, if I remember correctly."

"Well, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd check in on how some old friends were doing. Imagine my surprise when I was told you no longer lived in Bag End! Curious, I went to look for you, and here is where my search ended. Tell me, Bilbo, what happened?" Gandalf questioned, as his intense eyes bore into Bilbo, causing him to squirm slightly in his seat. He really did not want to tell what had happened, as it was still a fresh wound, but something about the Wizard's stare made Bilbo want to tell his tale, if only to get Gandalf to stop looking at him like that.

"Well... I suppose it started when my father died five years ago, with my mother dying soon after. They had put in their will that everything would be left to me, you see, but there was a problem they hadn't foreseen. Even I don't quite understand it, but to make a long story short, it appeared that there was a loop hole in their will which made me unable to access their money, which in turn means that it now belongs to the King and his various underlings. I've looked at it from every angle I can, even redeemed an old favor from the town lawyer, and there is nothing I can do. Soon after I lost the money, I lost the majority of my parent's possessions as well, and then went the house. Now here I am, homeless and quite possibly helpless." The small man claimed morosely, looking down into his almost empty tankard.

He certainly hadn't expected to feel a whack at the back of his head. Exclaiming a protest, he rubbed his stinging head while glaring at the Wizard, who was glaring right back.

"What do you plan on doing about your predicament, or are you simply planning on giving up?" Gandalf asked, his eyes boring into Bilbo's, challenging him. Bilbo, never one to back down from a challenge, sat up straight, matching Gandalf's glare.

"Well, I don't quite know, do I, as someone happened to interrupt my thoughts." He claimed sullenly. "I suppose I'll have to get a job, but I've no idea where. I've not got many skills, unless you count reading. I suppose I'm rather good with animals, but what good does that do me?" He asked rhetorically, looking away from Gandalf at last to look at the room at large, therefore missing the sudden calculating look that entered the Wizard's eyes.

"Good with animals, you say? How are you with horses?" The grey wizard asked slyly. Bilbo, still lost in his own mind, did not notice.

"Hmm? Well, I suppose I'm good with horses. Mother was very fond of them, you know, kept a small herd in the fields outside the Shire. I would go out with her most days to help her tend to them. Once she... Died, I suppose I just kept on doing it. But they're gone now, taken along with the rest of my stuff. Shame, I quite liked a lot of them." Bilbo looked wistful as he took the last sip of his ale. He never saw the quick grin that flashed on the wizard's face, nor the look of pleasure that suddenly filled his eyes.

"Well then my friend, I believe I know just the job for you! It's quite a distance away, but I'm sure it shouldn't be that much of a hassle, not with those new roads and passes that were put in. In fact, I think you'd be perfect for the job!" Gandalf exclaimed happily, startling Bilbo out of his thoughts.

"W-what? A job? What kind of job? Where?" Bilbo asked, stumbling over his words in his excitement. It was more than he had hoped, to find a job just like that.

With a twinkle of amusement in his eyes, which Bilbo did not seem to see, Gandalf took out a slip of paper and wrote a few quick, neat lines on it, before folding it and handing it to the shorter man.

"Go to this address and tell them that Gandalf sent you. They're looking for a farmhand who is good with horses, as their old one sadly passed away several months ago. They'll take you in and give you a place to live, as long as you're good at your job of course. Now, I'm afraid I must leave now. In fact, I've stayed too long. Good luck, Bilbo Baggins." With that, Gandalf stood up, leaving a few coins on the table for the ale he had not even finished.

Bilbo sat there for a few second in shock, not quite sure what had just happened, before shooting up and chasing after the Wizard's retreating back.

"Wait! Wait! You can't just leave! How am I supposed to get to this place? What am I to do if they don't hire me? Gandalf!" Bilbo shouted as he ran, hoping that the Wizard would stop and answer him. But he did not, and as soon as he left the pub he blended into the hustle and bustle of the busy street, making Bilbo lose sight of him. Bilbo stood in the middle of the street, panting slightly, confused and feeling more than a little lost. Slowly, he turned around and returned to his table in the pub, staring intently at the table as he turned this new information around in his mind.

On one hand, it was a job. He sorely needed a job if he wanted to survive in this world. On the other hand, Gandalf said it was quite the ways away. Bilbo had never been farther than Bree in his life, and now he was thinking of going someplace completely unknown, with nothing more than the clothes on his back? He must be going mad! But still, he could not seem to stop staring at the piece of paper still clutched in his fist. After a minute of internal debate, Bilbo gave a loud sigh and unfolded the note. It couldn't hurt to look, he thought.

Skimming the neat words quickly, he suddenly frowned when he reached the address. "'Erebor Farm. Located beneath the Lonely Mountain.' The Lonely Mountain? Where in the world is that?" He muttered softly to himself, as he felt his heart start to race for reasons he did not want to think about. He was not excited about an adventure. He was not going to leave everything he knew behind for the chance of something unknown. He was not.


	2. Procuring a Job

A/N: Next chapter up. I hope you all like it. I'm pleasantly surprised at the reception the first chapter got, and hope you all like this chapter just as much. Please tell me if you see any mistakes. Make sure you leave a comment on what you think, if you like it or not.

Enjoy.

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Bilbo stared up at the weather worn sign that proclaimed "Erebor Farm" in faded black bold letters, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

The past two weeks he had been in a fit of nerves as he made his way across Middle Earth, riding a horse he had managed to trade his finest silk handkerchief for. She was a solid little mare, if a few years passed her prime. He had followed signs and used his knowledge of maps to help him cross the lands quickly and unharmed, and now here he was, staring up at his destination with no real plan in mind.

'What if they don't like me? What if they already filled the position? What if they're not friendly? What if Gandalf lied and is now laughing at the poor, naive man he managed to get to travel halfway across the world for no reason?' Bilbo panicked, his heart beating furiously as his breathing sped up.

Taking several deep breaths, Bilbo forced himself to calm down and think rationally. Panicking would not help him.

"Okay Bilbo. You're already here. That means you can't exactly turn back now, can you? No. Just breathe and act confident. Deal with whatever happens when it happens." He murmured to himself as he forced his horse to cross through the open gate, his heart in his throat despite his little pep talk.

The ride to the farm house seemed to drag on for hours as Bilbo's panic slowly grew once more, his advice not working. 'Oh Mahal. What am I doing here? I should have just stayed in the Shire. I could have gotten a job there. Or even Bree! I never should have listened to that Wizard. What am I going to do?'

Finally, just as he was about to turn his horse around and forget about the whole thing, he turned a corner and saw the farmhouse in distance, his breath faltering.

It was a big house. At least three stories tall and obviously quite long. It was magnificent in its sprawl, faded red brick meeting aged brown wood across an untamed landscape. There were numerous windows set in intricate window settings. The house had obviously seen better days, but to Bilbo it was the grandest house he had ever seen. He could see himself happily spending his days out here, reading on the front porch.

He quickly shook his head though, scolding himself for his moment of fancy. 'You don't have the job yet. And even if you do get it, you're probably going to be too busy to be doing all that much reading.' He reminded himself grimly as he continued on, though he felt infinitely more confident in his decision to come here than he had moments ago. Seeing the house made everything more real, grounding his mind. He still, however, felt the slight panic of what he would do if they turned him away. He just no longer doubted his decision to come.

At last Bilbo came to the front porch, and had just finished climbing off his horse when the front door swung open abruptly, revealing an intense and frightening looking man. Heavily muscled, the man in front of Bilbo struck an intimidating figure, along with his balding head and long, thick beard. Bilbo thought he even saw some tattoos. Frozen solid against his little horse, Bilbo almost didn't notice when the scowling man started talking to him.

"What do you want?" The Man growled, glaring daggers at poor Bilbo. Not quite able to find his voice, Bilbo remained silent. "You aren't with the King, are you? We already paid you bastards!"

Bilbo quite honestly did not know what to do, and had a sudden desire to be just about anywhere other than where he was. Just as he was about to stammer out an excuse to leave, there was a small voice that came from behind the Man, from inside the house. The Man gave Bilbo one last glare before turning to talk quickly with whoever it was. A few tense moments passed, with Bilbo scarcely breathing, before the door opened wider, revealing another man, this one a lot less intimidating.

With a long white beard and a kind smile, the new comer spoke to Bilbo in an aged voice. "Hello there lad. What can we do you for?"

Still feeling shocked and quite a bit frightened, Bilbo said nothing, simply staring wide eyed at the two men in front of him. A minute passed before the first man let out a soft growl, which prompted Bilbo into speech, least he make the terrifying man even angrier.

"I-I, uh. Um. I was sent here. By-by Gandalf? He-he said that you were looking for a farm hand who was good with horses. I-I grew up around horses and needed a job, so I thought that I should try and see if you were still hiring. My mother, she loved horses, she did. Very fond of them." Bilbo babbled nervously, eyes darting between the two men who suddenly looked at Bilbo intently. Gulping, Bilbo started backing away slowly. "B-but I can see you're not interested, I'll just be going then..." Bilbo trailed off, as the second man let out a soft laugh, a smile filling his aged face.

"Oh laddie, don't go just yet! We've been expecting you, we just weren't sure when you'd arrive. Please, come inside. Don't let my brother scare you, come on lad." The older man persuaded, his smile warm and friendly, making Bilbo relax slightly, though he still threw a cautious glance at the intimidating man, the older man's brother apparently. Catching the glance, the older man turned and frowned at his brother.

"Dwalin, didn't Fíli say he wanted you to help him with his knife work today? Why don't you go find the lad and I'll deal with Mr. Baggins."

Startled that the older man knew his name, he almost missed the low growl the first man, Dwalin, let out before retreating inside the house and stalking away. Bilbo finally relaxed completely once Dwalin was out of view and turned towards the older man with a small, if a bit shaky smile. The older man returned it with a bright and friendly one.

"Now, Mister Baggins, if you would please follow me. It seems like we have much to discuss." The older man held the door open in invitation as he stood slightly to the side, waiting for Bilbo to enter. Turning to his horse, he frowned lightly, not sure where he should put her.

"Just leave her laddie, one of our other farm hands will put her away. Come on in." With one last pat on his horse's flank, and an affectionate smile, Bilbo turned away from his only friend and took a deep breath before following the older man inside the worn down farmhouse.

~XoxoxoxoxoxoxoX~

It was cozy. That was the first thought Bilbo had as he stared at the interior of the home. It was a rather large foyer, with wooden paneling along the bottom of the walls and floors. The upper part of the walls had peeling yellow wallpaper, which might have at one point had a design on them that Bilbo could not figure out. There was a small end table on the side of the foyer that held a vase of wilting sunflowers and a couple of books. Along the floor were boots of various sizes, a couple of them smaller than the rest. All in all, it seemed very homey to Bilbo, if worn. Well loved, he liked to imagine.

The foyer led off into two rooms, one on each side, with a staircase in front. The older man led him into the room on the left, after gesturing to him to take off his shoes. Happy at the chance to be rid of his uncomfortable shoes, he obliged before following the man into the room, which happened to be a small living area. This room had a solid brown wallpaper with dark wooden floors. There was a patched dirty brown couch placed in front of a small unlit fireplace with a coffee table in between, which held books and papers filled with scribbles that Bilbo couldn't quite make out.

The older man led Bilbo to the couch where he gratefully sat down. While he loved horses, riding on one for two weeks straight was never that fun. The older man turned towards Bilbo and asked if he wanted any tea or biscuits to eat. Nodding enthusiastically, the older man chuckled lightly at him and left the room to make some tea and find some biscuits from the kitchen.

Bilbo sat quietly while he waited for the older man to return, studying his surroundings carefully. It was because of this he never heard the sound of pattering feet on the floor, nor did he notice the wide eyes that were now staring at him.

"Are you Mr. Boggins?" A small voice asked, taking Bilbo by surprise. He looked in front of him quickly, and was startled to find a small child staring at him inquiringly.

"Er... Yes? Though it's Baggins, not Boggins..." Bilbo replied, not quite sure how to deal with the child. He was never around children very often in the Shire, preferring to keep his solitude.

The child gave him a big, toothy grin, revealing the fact he had obviously lost quite a few. "I knew you'd come! Fíli said you wouldn't, but I knew you would!"

"Oh, did he now? And who is this 'Fíli'" Bilbo asked in confusion. That was the second time this Fíli had been mentioned. Was he going to be his boss?

"Fíli's my older brother." The child answered, a large smile on his face. "He's five years older than me and thinks he's sooo smart because of it. I'm just as smart as he is! And this proves it. I knew you'd come." The child finished with an over-the-top nod, making Bilbo have to suppress a grin. So not his boss, then. His boss's children? He didn't think the older man or Dwalin was his boss, so he was curious who the man would turn out to be.

"Well, I'm glad you had so much faith in me, uh..." Bilbo trailed off, realising he didn't know the child's name.

"Kíli!" The child, Kíli, exclaimed, obviously picking up on Bilbo's hesitation.

'Kíli and Fíli huh? Their parents must like rhyming names.' He thought absently as he smiled at Kíli.

"Kíli. Tell me, where are your parents? Are they around?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he had made a mistake. The exuberant child's face plummeted and he looked morosely down at the ground.

"They're dead. No one ever says it, or talks about it, but I know the truth. Dad died when I was a baby. Mum died six months ago."

Bilbo felt his heart drop as he heard the pain that laced the boy's words. It was a pain he'd felt all too clearly, five years ago when his parents died.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-" Bilbo began, but abruptly stopped when Kíli looked up and glared at him fiercely.

"Don't say you're sorry! Everyone always says they're sorry, but I don't want to hear it! Sorry won't bring them back!" Kíli shouted at him, his face red and his eyes turning watery. While Bilbo felt terrible for having caused this child pain, he had a slight feeling it wasn't only him that Kíli was yelling at. Having just lost a parent, the child was most likely yelling at the world. Still didn't stop the guilt Bilbo felt, though.

It was at this moment that the older man, whose name Bilbo still didn't know, returned carrying a tray full of cookies, a tea pot, and two tea cups. With a slight frown on his face, he stared down at Kíli.

"Kíli, lad, why don't you go outside and find Ori, hmm? I'm sure he will read you that book you were talking about." With one last glare at Bilbo, Kíli turned on his heels and left the house, frowning deeply. If Bilbo didn't feel so terrible at having caused the child to be upset, he would have found it adorable.

"Oh dear. I fear I messed that up terribly." He said worryingly, staring at the doorway the boy exited out of. "I hadn't meant to upset him."

"Aye, but don't worry lad. Kíli's a tough one. He'll get through it. He's just been having a hard time since his mother passed away. He'll be alright though. Anyway, here's your tea and biscuits."

The older man laid out a tea cup and saucer in front of him before filling it with a sweet smelling tea. Bilbo inhaled deeply, having missed tea terribly while on his journey here. He took some cream and a little sugar and stirred them carefully into his tea before taking a huge sip, not minding the burn. He then took a couple chocolate biscuits and practically inhaled them. Two weeks with little food leaves a man desperate.

Feeling better after having some tea and food, he smiled slightly at the other man.

"Still, I wish I hadn't hurt the boy. Well, what's done is done, I suppose. Anyway, thank you for the tea, Mister..." He trailed off once more, hoping the man would be as perceptive as the child was.

Luckily, he was. "Balin, at your service." The man, Balin replied with a small chuckle. 'It seems rhyming names are a theme.' Bilbo thought with mild amusement.

"Mister Balin. Now, should we talk about the job?" He asked, finally getting around to the reason he was here.

Balin nodded somewhat gravely, and began. "Ah yes. You see, six months ago we lost our caretaker for the horses in an unfortunate accident. That caretaker, who happened to be Kíli's mother, was the only one who really knew how to handle our horses, outside of her brother. The rest of us are decent with horses, but only she could truly make them listen to her.

"For three months after the accident, we were content with leaving the post open, thinking the rest of us could make due. Unfortunately, the horses had a different opinion. Ever since Lady Dís passed away, the horses have been restless, anxious almost. They refuse to settle for anyone. Not even Thorin can get them to calm. Bofur can barely even feed them without one of them rearing. It was a difficult decision, but even Thorin agrees we need a new caretaker for the horses. Someone who knows how horses think and can help them through whatever it is that is bothering them. That is where you come in, laddie."

Balin paused for a second, and smiled at Bilbo.

"I will admit, you don't exactly look the type to be caring for horses, but I saw the way you looked at your horse back there. You obviously care for the creatures, so I believe that it is worth a shot. Plus, Gandalf has vouched for you, and the wizard has not been wrong yet. Now, I suppose we should talk about payment and the like?"

After that the two men spent close to an hour creating and looking over a contract that fit both of their needs.

Bilbo would work from sun up to sun down with the horses, with an hour break for lunch and three ten minute breaks per day. He would groom them, exercise them, feed them and calm them down when they were upset. For this he would be housed in a single bedroom on the third floor of the farmhouse, with an attached bathroom. He would be fed each day with the other farm hands in the kitchen, three times a day. He would get one day off a week, which he could decide the week before. He would be paid one gold piece a day, six total a week. Not too bad, considering.

Before Bilbo actually signed the contract, however, Balin insisted that he actually meet the horses first, to make sure he could do his job.

"Not that I doubt your abilities, laddie, just that I think it'd be best to make sure you actually like the horses before signing." Balin assured.

And so with that, Bilbo followed Balin out of the house and up the hill to the stable the horses were stored in. To his right he could see a solitary mountain in the near distance, which he assumed was the Lonely Mountain Gandalf had mentioned. Bilbo and Balin stopped in front of the stable doors and Balin turned to him before opening them.

"Just a word of advice laddie. Don't be discouraged if they shy away from you at first. They've never taken well to strangers, even when Lady Dís was around."

Bilbo smiled and replied, "Don't worry, I've dealt with my fair share of shy horses. I think I can deal with them."

Despite his confident words, Bilbo wasn't quite sure. Yes, he had dealt with moody and unpredictable horses before, but that didn't mean that these horses would like him. He took a deep breath before entering the stable as silently as he could.

The inside of the stable was quite spacious. Each horse had at least a 14x14 stall with fresh hay and water. There were fifteen stalls in total, ten of which were filled. The horses themselves were a bunch of different breeds, Bilbo saw. They were all very beautiful, he thought to himself with a smile, feeling a sense of peace and familiarity rush over him. It was like he was back home, his mother standing beside him as they tended to the horses together.

Balin let out a small cough a few minutes later when Bilbo still hadn't moved. Blushing and apologizing, he entered the stable properly, and walked over to the first horse. It was a solid black Irish Draught Stallion, standing tall and proud in its stall. Walking carefully towards the stall, Bilbo tried to get a closer look at the stallion, but before he could get within five feet, the horse let out a loud whinny, and reared up, cause Bilbo to take an instinctual step back.

"Whoa. Whoa boy, easy there. I'm not going to hurt you. Easy." Bilbo began, his arms out in a placating manner as he tried to calm the horse. It worked slightly, as the stallion didn't rear again, but still had that wild and upset look in its eye. Bilbo took a step closer, smiling softly at the horse.

"That's it, that's a good boy. You're scared, aren't you? You miss your old caretaker, and don't understand why she hasn't returned, is that it? I understand. It can be scary, when someone who is there every day suddenly isn't there the next. But I can help you, okay? I'm going to take care of you from now on. I know I'm not your old caretaker, but I promise I will do my best to make sure all your needs are met. Alright?"

Bilbo spoke softly, his voice placating and kind. He wasn't sure if it was his tone or the words he used, but pretty soon the stallion was calm, calm enough to let Bilbo pet his head gently. It wasn't a close relationship yet, but Bilbo could tell he and this stallion would get along just fine soon enough.

With one final pat on the horses head, Bilbo went around to the other horses to see how well they responded to him. In the end, only half calmed enough to let him pet them. The other half still shied away and whinnied when he approached. He would try those ones again the next day, perhaps with some apples or sugar cubes. Overall, he felt pretty confident in his ability to take care of these horses, and smiled as he looked around at the various horses.

They were all well cared for, so it was obvious whoever his boss was cared deeply about the animals. With the smile still on his face, he turned back to Balin, who had been watching him closely as he interacted with the horses, and claimed that he would be delighted to work with these horses. A grin lighting his face, Balin took out the contract they had created and handed it to Bilbo along with a pen. Signing his name at the bottom, Bilbo felt a wave of giddiness rush through him. He had the job, he had a place to live, and he knew he would love these horses. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

A/N: I hope this didn't seem rushed or awkward. I have a hard time writing dialogue, and I think it might have shown in this chapter... I also hope no one seemed too out of character. Kíli, for one, acted the way he did because he's a child who is still mourning his mother. He doesn't quite understand his emotions, and is prone to lash out unexpectedly. At least, that's my reasoning. He becomes more friendly in the following chapters, so he won't be in a bad mood for too long.

As for the chapter updates... I've finished the next 3 chapters, and am working on the 6th. This chapter has actually been done for a few days, since I had written it the same day as the first chapter. I'm trying to pace myself, though, and not post them all at once. Therefore, I will probably be posting once every other day or so, maybe once a week. It depends on the reception this chapter gets and how much you all like it. If you didn't like this chapter and how it was written, you'll probably not like the next few. I'm trying my hardest to make the story flow, but I can't help but feel like I'm not doing it properly. Ah well. I just hope you liked it.

Leave a comment, whether you liked it or not. If you didn't like it, please explain why. I'm still learning my writing style, and it just seems so awkward and weird to me. I need the help to make my writing the best it can be. And if I ever mess up on facts, like about horses or life on the farm, just leave me a comment and I'll fix it as soon as I can. Thanks.


	3. Getting to Know You

So I got the new chapter up a bit early. I wasn't originally going to post today, but seeing as how it's my birthday (just turned 17 O_O) I thought I should post. Hope you enjoy it. If you see any mistakes, or if a character seems out of character to you, leave a comment and tell me.

I'm glad that people seem to be liking this story. I wasn't expecting people to like it, so I'm ecstatic that y'all are. If you like the chapter, leave a comment please. And... that's it. Enjoy. :-)

* * *

After signing the contract, Bilbo returned with Balin to the house to get his new room set up. Since he had next to nothing to call his own, it didn't take too long.

The room itself was rather plain, with off-white wallpaper and a wooden floor. There was a single bed in the center of the room with a slightly moth eaten blanket on top of it. Next to the bed was a rickety end table which held a small calendar. Along the side of the room was a medium sized wardrobe and a small chest of drawers. Other than that, the room was mostly barren and Bilbo silently hoped that he would be able to make the room homier soon.

After giving a quick run through of the rules, Balin gave Bilbo one last smile before leaving him to his thoughts.

Bilbo sat down on the bed, letting out a tired sigh. It had been quite the day. Going from panic to fear to exuberance sure can drain a man. Laying back over the bed, his feet still touching the floor, Bilbo closed his eyes and allowed himself a couple moments of peace to think. Minutes passed this way, before Bilbo's stomach growled, reminding him that all he had eaten that day had been half a dozen chocolate biscuits. Delicious, yes, but not very filling. Sitting up slowly, wincing at the pull in his sore muscles, Bilbo got up and went to explore the house a bit, to see if he could find the kitchen.

He walked down the old creaking stairs, having found nothing but bedrooms on his floor, and turned right, entering the living room once more. From the living room, he turned right again and found himself in a warm looking dining room. The walls were a faded yellow and there was a mahogany dining table in the center, large enough to fit over a dozen people. His stomach rumbling again, Bilbo decided not to linger too long here and walked into the room straight ahead of him, which turned out to be a very spacious kitchen. There was a stone stove in the center and a pantry off to the side. Going over to the pantry area, Bilbo started looking over what was there, not feeling the eyes that were watching him.

"Mister Bombur doesn't like it when people mess around in his pantry." A voice called out from behind him, making Bilbo spin around in fright. Standing there, with his arms crossed over his chest, was a boy who looked to be the age of 11 or 12. Blonde hair covered his head, and a frown was on his lips as he studied Bilbo.

'I've got to be more aware of my surroundings,' Bilbo thought to himself absently as his heart ceased its pounding.

"Oh?" Bilbo asked, smiling slightly at the boy in front of him. "I apologize, I hadn't known. I was just looking for something to eat."

The boy continued to frown at him, which made Bilbo want to squirm, though he forced himself to stay still. 'It's only a child.' He scolded himself. Judging from the age, he assumed that this was the Fíli he had heard about earlier.

A tense moment passed before the child uncrossed his arms and walked over to the pantry, picking up an apple and handing it to Bilbo.

"Here. Mister Bombur keeps a bunch of food over here for Kíli and me, in case we ever get hungry during the day." The boy, most definitely Fíli, said.

"Ah, thank you." Bilbo replied as he took the apple, smiling warmly at the boy. Fíli just frowned in response.

"You upset Kíli." Fíli said a few moments later, after Bilbo had finished the apple and was taking another. Faltering slightly, Bilbo pulled his hand slowly back to his body, turning to frown mildly at the boy in front of him.

"I know. I hadn't meant to." He said softly, hoping the boy would hear his regret at having hurt his younger brother.

Another moment passed, before Fíli nodded curtly.

"Alright. Just don't do it again. You have to be careful around Kíli. Ever since mum... Ever since mum died, he's not been himself. Anything that reminds him of her makes him sad, and I don't want him to be sad, okay? You didn't know before, but now you do. So just... Be careful. Understood?" Fíli demanded, staring Bilbo straight in the eye. Sensing the urgency in the boy's gaze, Bilbo nodded solemnly.

"I understand. I'll make sure to be careful." With that, Fíli relaxed, nodding his head at Bilbo before giving him a small smirk.

"So. You're the new caretaker for the horses? I thought you'd be taller."

Letting out a small chuckle, relieved at the change in topic, Bilbo replied, "I get that a lot. But size isn't everything, I've learned."

Fíli let out a small snort at that, when a shout came from outside, causing the boy to turn to hear it properly. Grimacing lightly, he turned back to Bilbo and smiled quickly.

"That's my cue to go. Dwalin won't be happy if I keep him waiting. See you around, Mister Baggins!" Taking an apple for himself, the boy darted outside, leaving Bilbo staring after him.

'Interesting boy. Obviously cares deeply about his brother.' Bilbo thought, a small smile on his face as he turned back to the area Fíli had said it was alright to take food from. Grabbing some carrots and a pastry he couldn't recall the name of, Bilbo turned and went back upstairs to his room. It was early, but he was feeling tired and decided to take a nap before dinner would begin.

~XoxoxoxoxoxoX~

Dinner that night wasn't as hectic as he thought it would be. Though that mainly was because he woke up late from his nap and came into the dining hall when only a few stragglers were left eating. That night he was introduced to Dori, Nori and Ori, who were brothers. He learned that Dori, the oldest at age 30, was a farmer here, tending mostly to the crops, not spending all that much time around the animals. Nori, 25, watched over the cows and made sure they were fed and happy. Ori, who was only 16, spent most of his days reading or writing, though he would help his eldest brother out when Dori needed him.

Bilbo spent a while talking to the three brothers, whose personalities were so different it was surprising to realize they were actually brothers. But when he saw the exasperated way that Dori looked at Nori when he said something inappropriate, or the worshipful gaze Ori gave the other two, it was easier to see. Bilbo felt himself relax around the three, listening more than participating in the conversation, but not minding one bit.

Once the sun went down, Bilbo bid the three men goodbye and retreated upstairs, where he promptly fell asleep.

The next morning he rose as the sun filled his room, stretching as he washed his face and tried to make his clothes look presentable. He frowned at the dusty and dirty shirt he was wearing, determined to get new ones on his day off the next week.

Immediately after breakfast, which consisted of a couple of scones as he chatted with Dori, he left for the stables, a basket full of apples in his hands.

He spent the rest of the day in the stables, ignoring lunch in favor of getting the horses to trust him. It was slow going, and the horses were determined to stay distant, but as the sun started going down he felt that he had made great progress. Now, even the most stubborn horse had let him come near enough to at least feed them an apple and pet their snout gently.

He had many visitors during the day, including Bifur and Bofur, cousins who took care of the all the stables. Their job was to clean the hay and bring in the oats Bilbo would use to feed the horses. Bofur, Bilbo learned, was great company. He chatted to Bilbo as Bilbo tried to win over the horses, keeping him company for about half an hour before he had to go back to his duties. Bifur was... Not quite as good company, but he seemed nice enough, even if he didn't speak.

All in all the day had been rather successful. He was feeling peaceful for the first time in ages, and he left the stables with a spring in his step.

Reaching the house quickly, Bilbo opened the back door and entered into the busy kitchen, which was full of wonderful smells. At the stove was a short, rotund man who had thick, copper coloured hair and a braided beard. He was currently stirring a pot of stew as he added a pinch of what Bilbo assumed was salt.

"That smells wonderful." Bilbo told the man when he had turned to see who had entered. The man smiled at him in thanks, before gesturing him to enter the dining room.

Following the directions, Bilbo walked through the opened door and felt just a little shocked at how crowded the room was. He was pleased to see that he recognized all of the faces at least.

Looking around for a seat at the overcrowded table, he saw Balin notice him and smile in his direction.

"Over here laddie, you can sit next to me." The older man said, his voice carrying across the table, causing the rest of the men to take notice of him. He saw Bofur and Dori smile widely at him, while little Kíli just looked at him pensively. Walking over to the seat that Balin had pulled out for him, he sat down and watched as the chatter picked up again. He let it flow over him as he took a bit of the food that had been set out in the middle of the table. He felt content to just watch the people around him and eat his food, but the others had a different idea.

"So, Bilbo, I hear you traveled a distance to get here. Where is it that you came from?" Bofur asked him genially, during a lull in the conversations.

Not expecting to be asked any questions, Bilbo took a second before answering. "Well, I come from the Shire. It's a little town, just west of Bree."

"The Shire?" Nori interjected, looking interested. "Don't see many folk from that area travel that often. Very community oriented, aren't they? What made you decide to come all the way out here?"

Bilbo felt his face flush slightly as everyone in the room turned to face him, all with curious looks on their faces. Clearly they all wanted to know what made a simple man like Bilbo leave his comfortable life in the Shire.

"Ah. Well... Hm." Bilbo stalled, not quite sure what exactly to say. Balin noticed, and sent a sharp glare at the surrounding men.

"Leave the lad alone. It's his business and his alone why he decided to take this job. We should just be grateful he did."

The rest of the company looked a bit sheepish as they turned back to their meals.

"Sorry Bilbo. Didn't mean to pry. Was just curious, that's all." Nori said, not sounding all that sorry.

"No, no it's fine. I didn't mind. To answer your question, well, I guess it's because my home was taken from me." Bilbo started, but stopped when everyone turned back to stare at him. Clearing his throat, he began again, though he made sure to edit his story so as to not bring any bad memories up for little Kíli. "I ran into some money problems, you see. Nothing to do with me, mind you, more legal things. Because of it, I was unable to pay for my home anymore and even after selling most of my possessions I was unable to afford the high rent. I fell behind on payments, and before I knew it everything I owned was being carted away by the king's men, leaving me with only the clothes on my back and a few items my parents had held dear. Since I had spent most of the past five years in solitude, I was unable to find much help from my neighbors. When Gandalf came and told me of a job, well, I suppose I had to go and see. And so here I am Bilbo finished, telling the story almost mechanically now, though he felt slightly nervous. He wasn't used to being the center of attention and felt a bit like one of those show horses the nobles liked to parade around.

A few moments passed in silence while everyone processed his response. He noticed even Bombur, the chef, was there, having come in from the kitchen during his tale.

"Sounds like you have something in common with Thorin, then." Bofur said at last.

Bilbo tilted his head in confusion. He had recalled hearing that name before, but he couldn't recall who it belonged to. "Thorin?"

The company of men all looked at him as if he had grown a third head, even Fíli and Kíli. Bilbo flushed brightly and ducked his head quickly.

"You don't know who Thorin is?" Bofur questioned, sounding confused. He then turned to Balin with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't bother telling him the name of the person he's employed to?"

Balin shrugged slightly, looking a bit abashed, but not much. "It must have slipped my mind," was all he would say about it.

Bofur shook his head, before turning back to Bilbo.

"Thorin is the owner of the farm, lad. It's been in his family for generations and he's our employer. He's away on business for the moment, which is why you've not met him yet."

"Uncle Thorin is yelling at those men who took our money." Kíli interrupted helpfully, having decided to join the conversation.

Bilbo frowned lightly, but said nothing. Pretty soon the conversation around the table turned to other matters, anywhere from Fíli's weapon training to Ori's recent poetry. Bilbo, however, spent the rest of dinner picking at his food until the rest of the group started drifting away from the table. Excusing himself, he hurried up to his room and fell onto the bed.

So he finally knew his boss's name. That was good, at least he'd know what to call him when he finally showed up. Bilbo found himself wondering about this man, if he would be a kind boss or a harsh one. Knowing next to nothing about him, however, Bilbo quickly moved on from that train of thought, settling on simply hoping he'd be a kind boss. He did wonder what Bofur had meant, when he said they had something in common, though.

Turning onto his side, Bilbo forced his thoughts away from his unknown employer, instead thinking of his work and fellow farm hands. They all seemed to be nice, though Dwalin still scared him somewhat. The horses were reasonable enough, they just were distressed over the loss of their previous caretaker. Once he built a strong enough bond, he was sure they would be fine horses, very well mannered. All in all, things were going better than he had feared they would.

About twenty minutes later Bilbo found himself falling asleep, his mind full of horses and friendly faces. No matter the difficulties he had faced in his life the past few months, he was glad he had come to this farm.


	4. Making a Friend

Yay, new chapter. Sorry for the wait, I've been a bit busy the past couple days and forgot to post. Plus, I've had some terrible writer's block and was hoping I would overcome it. No such luck, but I'm hoping I figure everything out soon. Until I do, however, I might have slow updates.

I hope this chapter is okay. Enjoy. :-)

* * *

Over the next few days, Bilbo settled into a sort of routine. Wake up just after dawn, eat breakfast with Dori or Balin (who were both late risers, like him), then go out to the horse stables. From there he would spend the next several hours working with the horses, getting the skittish and unfriendly ones to get used to his company and grooming the ones who already seemed to like him. He would take an hour off for lunch right after noon, which he used to read his novels, before going straight back to the stables. Thus far he had not taken advantage of his three ten minute breaks, but he didn't mind all that much. It was peaceful and familiar working with the horses, something he sorely needed. While he loved Erebor Farm, he still missed his home.

Once the sun went down, Bilbo would pack his stuff up and go inside to share dinner with the rest of the men, listening to- and occasionally telling- stories.

He found he really enjoyed the company of the other men. They were obviously very used to each other, a big family Bilbo thought, and they made sure to include him whenever they could. Bofur and Balin were the ones who seemed to try the hardest to include him, but Dori would occasionally ask his opinion on things and Nori seemed very interested in the Shire, though he made sure to keep from prying too much.

The only ones who didn't seem to like him much were Dwalin and Kíli. Dwalin would spend most of his time frowning at Bilbo, like he was a problem the man wanted to be rid of. It made Bilbo feel very uneasy when he noticed it.

And as for Kíli... Well, it wasn't that the boy hated him, per se, but he clearly didn't like him. Whenever Bilbo would enter the room, he would frown at him and give him this pensive look. Frankly, it unnerved Bilbo even more than Dwalin's glares. The weirdest part was that after that initial look, he would just ignore Bilbo and continue doing whatever it was he had been doing before. He wouldn't even acknowledge Bilbo was in the room. Bilbo didn't quite know what to do. Give him horses or animals and he could figure out what was ailing them in a second. A human child, however? He was as clueless as a fool.

At least the boy's brother seemed to like him well enough. Fíli would occasionally come out and see him during the day, though Bilbo had a feeling it was more because he wished to escape whatever it was he was supposed to be doing at the moment. Bilbo didn't mind, though. The boy was surprisingly witty, making Bilbo chuckle more than once.

During the past three days, Bilbo had learned much about the men who worked on the farm. As it turned out, there were two more men who worked here that he hadn't met before, Óin and Glóin, brothers. They were out with Thorin on business, which was why he hadn't met them yet. Glóin was a farmer, though he also was good with money, making him the unofficial treasurer for the farm. Óin was the farm's healer and worked with both animals and humans. He had gone with Thorin and Glóin to look over some animals they were looking to buy, according to Balin.

He also learned that most of the men were related in some way. It was why they all worked and stayed on the farm. The only ones not related to Thorin's family were Bofur, Bombur and Bifur. Their family had, apparently, been close friends with the Durin line, and when their home had been destroyed during a bandit raid, Thorin agreed to take them in as long as they worked hard.

There were other, smaller things Bilbo learned during these days. For instance, Nori had used to be a criminal in his youth. He was reformed now, he swore, but Bilbo still felt a bit uneasy at that revelation. Another thing he learned about the Ri family was that their parents had died seven years previous, which is why Ori lived on the farm. Dori was his guardian, and Thorin had agreed to let little Ori stay on the farm with him.

Bifur, it turned out, did speak, just not Westron. He had used to be a soldier before getting an axe to the head. They had managed to save his life, but after that he seemed unable to speak the common language. Instead he spoke Khuzdul, the language that the men in the east spoke in. It did explain the rather large scar that Bifur had along the top of his head, Bilbo thought.

Bilbo even learned a bit about his employer. Thorin, Balin told him, was an intense and serious man who had seen great loss in his life. But underneath it all, all the pain and anger, he was a very caring man. He cared deeply about those in his employ and did what he could to see their needs met. Balin told him to not be surprised, though, if Thorin didn't like him at first.

"Thorin doesn't warm up to people very easily, laddie. Especially not when... Well, not after everything. Just give him time and I'm sure he'll take to you finely."

Not very encouraging, Bilbo thought. But he had some time until he'd meet the man, since Balin said they'd be gone for most of the next week. Bilbo tried not to feel relieved.

At the moment, Bilbo was finishing up his work in the stables and was about to go inside for lunch. Most days during lunch he was left alone, as the others were working or off doing their own business. It was nice to get a bit of solitude every now and again. Bilbo knew in the past five years he had become something of a recluse and all this recent socializing left him feeling just a bit drained. He enjoyed the company, but it was a bit much at times.

He took a bowl of stew from Bombur with a smile and sat down at the dining table with his newest book. He had been told he could eat his food anywhere he wanted in the house as long as he didn't spill it, but he still preferred to eat in the dining room. It was called a dining room for a reason, Bilbo thought.

Opening his book to where he had left off, he found himself drawn into the story as he waited for his stew to cool. Ten minutes had passed before he heard the sound of footsteps enter the room almost silently. Looking up, Bilbo found himself staring at the littlest member of this household carrying his own bowl of stew.

Neither one moved for over a minute, stuck in a mini staring contest until Kíli made a small noise of displeasure and moved to sit down across the table from Bilbo. The silence was thick between them as Bilbo marked his place in his book and set it down, turning his focus on Kíli, who in turn ignored him. Bilbo thought that as long as they were in the same room together, it would be a good time to clear the air between them. It didn't sit well with him that this child didn't like him and he wanted to see if he could make things better.

A minute passed before Bilbo cleared his throat to speak, causing Kíli to glance up quickly, before looking down an instant later.

"So. I, uh... Hm." Bilbo paused, not quite sure what to say. Kíli ignored him once again.

"I suppose I should apologize." Bilbo said at last. Kíli still didn't look up, though he did pause in his eating, listening. "For what I had said when we first met. I didn't mean to upset you, Kíli." Bilbo spoke softly, the same way he would speak to an upset horse.

Kíli just frowned and bowed his head further downward. Bilbo decided to continue.

"I realize I did hurt you, though. Please talk to me, tell me what I did wrong? I've been thinking about it and don't quite know what it was I did. Would you mind telling me? Please?"

A moment of silence passed, before Kíli looked up at Bilbo, his eyes full of pain and sorrow. It made Bilbo's heart hurt to see such a look in the young child's eye, but he forced his face to stay soft and kind. He had to stay welcoming, that much he did know.

"I don't like it. When people say they're sorry." Kíli mumbled, looking down once more. "T-they always say it. They say how sorry they are that mum is- is gone. People I don't even know." Kíli clenched his hands as he started getting worked up. "And they always say how it'll get better in time, but I know it won't! She'll always be gone! I don't need their 'sorry's! I just need her back, and she's not coming back!" Kíli finished, almost shouting as he glared at his stew, tears escaping down his cheeks. Bilbo felt a bit lost as he looked at the child, but knew he had to do something. Getting up quietly, Bilbo walked silently over to the crying child and sat down next to him, placing his hand on Kíli's mid back, rubbing a small, soothing circle. He took a second to gather his thoughts before beginning.

"I understand what you mean, Kíli. I lost my parents five years ago and I remember how the people looked at me. With pity and false sorrow. They would tell me how sorry they were, how if I needed anything they'd be there. Somehow, however, it all seems so fake, doesn't it?" Bilbo asked, looking down at the child. He heard Kíli sniff softly, before giving a small nod. Bilbo took it as a good sign.

"They all say they're sorry, but how can they be as sorry as you are that she's gone? How do they know the pain that her absence has left in you? But I will tell you something, my lad. Something it took me years to realize. When they say 'I'm sorry' to you, they're not saying 'I'm sorry they're gone,' they're saying 'I'm sorry their absence is hurting you. I'm sorry for the pain their death is causing you.' They say 'I'm sorry' because they don't know how else to express those emotions. They don't know how else to express the sorrow they feel at seeing you so hurt. Maybe not all of them mean it like that. Maybe it is empty words for some. But I like to think that it's not just meaningless for the majority of them."

Bilbo hoped he was saying the right words. He had never been the best with words, always saying things he didn't mean, or saying things that came out ways he didn't want them to come out. Kíli looked pensively at his bowl, no longer crying at least.

"And as for it never getting better... I know, Kíli, my boy, that it feels like that now. And it will continue to feel that way, for years to come. But believe me, it does get better. Will it ever stop hurting? No. That pain will always be there, but that is only natural. Your mother was the main person in your life. She was always there for you, and her death will always leave a bit of pain behind. But with time you'll be able to see past that pain and remember the good times you had with her. You'll remember her smile as she tucked you in, her laugh as you did something silly. In time, you'll realize that even though she may not be around in person, she's still there. In your heart, your mother will always live on. Remember that, Kíli." Bilbo finished speaking and looked down at Kíli, waiting for his reaction. Bilbo wasn't sure how the child would take his words. While they were true for Bilbo, who knew how a small child would see them.

Long moments passed as Kíli continued to stare into his bowl, saying nothing. As the seconds dragged, Bilbo started feeling more and more panicked, afraid he had messed up again. He was about to say something to try and rectify things when Kíli looked up at him, his eyes full of determination and something Bilbo couldn't identify.

"Thank you, Mr. Baggins," was all the child said before hugging Bilbo. Not expecting the contact, Bilbo's arms hung uselessly by his side for a couple of seconds before he returned the embrace tightly. He could feel the child shaking and Bilbo ran soothing hands through Kíli's hair, feeling out of his depths but trying to do the best he could to help the child.

They stayed that way for many minutes before Kíli finally pulled back, rubbing the back of his hand across his face to clear away the tears.

"Now, why don't we finish our lunch, hmm? It's going to get cold if we don't eat it soon." Bilbo said softly as he watched the child, trying to diffuse the heavy atmosphere. Nodding, Kíli agreed, sending Bilbo a small, shaky smile. They ate together in silence until they were both finished. Collecting their bowls, Bilbo stood and brought them to the sink in the kitchen. Bombur was missing, Bilbo noted, most likely taking his own break at the moment.

As he rinsed the bowls out, he felt a slight tug at the bottom of his shirt and looked down to see Kíli shuffling around slightly, looking concerned about something. Getting down on one knee so he was eye level with the child, Bilbo smiled gently.

"What is the matter, my boy?" Bilbo inquired. Kíli looked him in the eye, frowning slightly with a determined look in his eyes.

"I wanted to apologize," Kíli stated seriously, "for ignoring you the past few days. It was rude of me, and I hope you can forgive me. You're not how I thought you were. You're nice."

Bilbo had to suppress a grin at the seriousness in the child's words. It was adorable. Instead, Bilbo nodded with mock solemnity.

"I forgive you my boy. You don't have to worry."

Kíli lit up at that, his serious face transforming into the exuberance Bilbo had witnessed at their first meeting.

"Oh, good. I don't want you to be upset with me. I like you. Want to come see my toys?" Kíli asked, looking at Bilbo with excitement, the pain from earlier forgotten. 'Children,' Bilbo thought, 'Change their moods on a dime.'

Smiling, Bilbo nodded. "I would like nothing better."

And with that, Kíli grinned and took Bilbo's hand, barely waiting for him to stand up before dragging him upstairs to see his collection of toys. Bilbo knew he had to get back to work soon, but he felt he could take a couple minutes off to make the child happy. Besides, he did have three ten minute breaks, and no one had said he couldn't take them consecutively.

~XoxoxoxoxoxoX~

"Kíli likes you again."

Bilbo had been brushing the mane of one of the mares when he heard Fíli's voice behind him. Giving the horse one last brush, he set the comb down and turned to face the boy.

"Oh?" Bilbo asked with raised eyebrows, trying not to grin at the thought of the child. He was starting to become very fond of Kíli.

Fíli narrowed his eyes. "Yes. You're all he's talked about since lunch time. What did you say to him?" Fíli demanded, his tone slightly accusing. At this, Bilbo let the grin come out, finding Fíli's protection of his little brother very sweet.

"We spoke a little, that's all. Cleared the air between us. I didn't say anything that a child shouldn't hear, I promise you."

Fíli frowned at Bilbo again, trying to see if he was lying or not. Detecting no lie, he nodded.

"Okay. Just don't hurt him, and I'm fine with it."

"I won't hurt him Fíli. I swear." Bilbo promised with a small, sincere smile. Fíli nodded once again before walking forward and gently petting the horse that Bilbo was grooming.

"Her name is Mindy, if you were curious."

Bilbo looked at Fíli in question, confused. Fíli nodded his head towards the horse he was petting gently.

"The horse. Her name is Mindy. Amad named her." Fíli told, his eyes focused on the mare. Bilbo smiled sadly.

"Mindy. That's a good name for a horse. Did your mother, uh, name the other horses?" Bilbo asked lamely, not quite sure what else to say. He really didn't know how to talk to children. Or anyone, really.

Fíli nodded, looking at Bilbo.

"She named all of the horses. She really loved them, you know. She would have spent all day out here in the stables if she could have."

"I can see. She obviously took great care of these horses. They miss her greatly."

"We all do." Fíli's voice was no more than a whisper, before he shook his head and steeled his face. "I can tell you their names, if you want."

Smiling, Bilbo nodded and let the boy lead him around and tell the names of the various horses. Once finished, the two returned to the main area of the stable, Fíli sitting down on a hay bale as Bilbo took the bag of oats out and started filling the horse's feeders. A comfortable silence filled the stable as Bilbo worked and Fíli sat, broken only by the whinnies from the horses.

Several minutes passed before Fíli stood up again, saying he had lessons with Balin soon.

"He'll tell Uncle Thorin if I'm late again, and I don't fancy getting yelled at once he finally gets back." Fíli explained before leaving Bilbo in the stables. With a smile still on his face, Bilbo continued his work, whistling softly. He really was starting to grow fond of the two lads. Funny, he had never much liked children beforehand.

It was late when Bilbo finally finished his work, meaning he missed dinner again. After eating the semi cold chicken, Bilbo retreated back upstairs to his room, falling asleep quickly.

It was several hours later when Bilbo was awoken, abruptly, by the sound of men shouting under his window.

* * *

Ooooh, mini cliff hanger. Not really, but eh. Hope you liked it, and make sure to leave a comment if you did.

Question: Did the Kíli and Bilbo interaction seem out of character to you? I'm hoping it didn't, but I'm not sure... If it did, I apologize. I just needed to get the two of them on better terms, and this seemed to be the most logical way. Bye for now.


	5. The Wrong Foot

Hey all. New chapter up, exciting huh? I'm pretty sure a lot of you could guess what the resolution of my mini-cliffhanger is, but eh. Anyway, I've pretty much decided that I'll be updating once a week, unless I get a lot of chapters done at once. Seeing as how I'm still a little stuck, I don't foresee that happening anytime soon.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. I had a bit of trouble with it, trying to make the characters seem less out of character than they had initially been. I think I succeeded, but we shall see, shan't we? Enjoy.

* * *

Shooting up, Bilbo hurriedly ran over to the window to see what the commotion was about. Since it was still dark out, Bilbo could see very little, but he could just about make out a horse drawn carriage making its way up the road. Pulling on the dressing robe that Balin had graciously gifted him, Bilbo silently walked down the stairs to get a closer look at what was going on.

He was in the middle of the staircase when the front door slammed open, hitting the wall with a loud THUNK. Wincing, Bilbo stopped moving and stared from his spot on the stairs, hidden from sight by the shadows.

Standing in the doorway were two men. One of the men was old, his hair and beard silver with wrinkles lining his face. The other... The other was tall, with dark hair that had a few silver strands mixed in. He had a proud look to him, almost regal. Bilbo felt his breath catch in his throat. This man looked to be one who demanded respect, and Bilbo wondered if this was the infamous Thorin. He wasn't supposed to back for a few days yet, but it was possible he had finished his business early.

At the moment, the elder man was talking about something that Bilbo had initially tuned out in favour of his examinations. Tuning back in, Bilbo was able to catch the last bit of what the elder man was saying.

"-let me help you. It's why I'm here isn't it? To help heal you and yours? Then stop complaining and let me do my job." The elder man grumbled, leveling a steady glare at the regal man, who glared right on back.

"It's just a scratch, Óin. It will heal quickly. I do not need you to fuss over it, understood?" The words were said with such force that Bilbo wondered how the elder man, Óin, could still be able to look at the regal man, let alone glare at him. Bilbo certainly didn't think he'd be as brave.

"I think Óin is right, Thorin, the wound needs to be looked at. It looks deep to my eyes, and I'd feel better knowing it had been looked over. Please Thorin." Balin- who Bilbo just noticed was standing off to the side- pleaded.

A couple tense moments passed before Thorin- Bilbo didn't quite know how to feel about this man turning out to be his boss- nodded tightly, his face a steely mask. The small group of people, which included Dwalin and another man Bilbo had never seen before but assumed was Glóin, the only other farm hand Bilbo didn't know, entered into the dining room. Bilbo followed silently, knowing he shouldn't be sneaking, but feeling his curiosity peaked. Plus it wouldn't make much difference to go back upstairs just then. In for a penny in for a pound and all that. Bilbo settled into a small alcove right outside the dining room, peering in through the ajar door. The rest of the group moved over to the dining table.

Thorin took a stiff seat and sat stoically as Óin took his over-shirt off so he could see the wound. Bilbo winced at the blood he could see pouring sluggishly from the angry looking gash, wondering how much that must hurt. Though you'd never be able to tell from Thorin's face, which was emotionless.

"Hurry this up. It has been a long day and I don't wish to be kept longer than I must."

Óin didn't reply, just went about collecting various healing supplies and herbs. After he had collected everything that he apparently needed, he returned to Thorin and began the process of cleaning and dressing the wound without a word. Bilbo watched Thorin's face, as his jaw clenched shut, the only indication that he was currently in pain. 'So he's one of those prideful men who refuses to let anyone know when something is wrong, huh?' Bilbo thought a bit distastefully. He'd never understood why people would resist help so much. It just made things more difficult in the long run, plus it irritated everyone involved.

A moment passed before Balin started up a steady stream of chatter, talking about what was happening on the farm and what the newest gossip around was. Bilbo could see that Thorin wasn't really  
listening, focusing more intently on not letting his pain show. Other than Balin's chatter, the room was silent.

It was a couple minutes later when Bilbo messed up. He'd never been a big fan of staying in one position for too long, and while trying to move subtly, he managed to hit the edge of a small end table that was around the entrance of the dining room. He was quick enough to make sure the vase on top didn't fall, but it didn't stop the faint THUNK sound from emitting. Bilbo's hope that no one had heard was dashed when the intense eyes of his employer turned towards the doorway and caught sight of him standing there, awkwardly holding onto a vase of daisies.

"Who are you?" Thorin growled, his face turning stony and dark. Bilbo felt his breath catch once more. He had thought that Dwalin was frightening. Compared to this man, Dwalin might as well have been a kitten.

At his voice, the rest of the group turned to face Bilbo, who shifted his feet, his face flushing in embarrassment and slight fear. A second passed as Bilbo tried to think of what to say, when Balin saved him.

"Mister Baggins! I hadn't seen you there, laddie. Why are you standing in the shadows, come here, come here." The older man said with a slightly forced, though sincere, smile. Not sure what else to do, Bilbo placed the vase down carefully and shuffled awkwardly into the room, trying to stand tall but failing at the glare Thorin leveled towards him.

"This is Bilbo Baggins, our new horse caretaker. The one that Gandalf found for us?" Balin told Thorin. "We didn't wake you, did we laddie? I apologize if we did." This was directed towards Bilbo, though it took him a moment to realize he was expected to respond.

"Oh! Well, I, uh, suppose you did wake me, but it's, it's no bother. I don't mind." Bilbo stammered, cringing lightly as Thorin's glare intensified. Oh dear.

"So you decided to spy on us, then? Why hide in the shadows like a burglar?" Thorin's voice was deep and growly, Bilbo noticed with fright as he tried to think up a good excuse. Balin once again saved him.

"He probably didn't know if he should come out or not. He's an awfully shy lad." A small lie, but Bilbo wasn't complaining if it got him off the hook.

Thorin continued to glare at him for a few more seconds, before letting out a soft snort and turning away at last. Bilbo felt like collapsing in relief.

"Fine. You say he's the new caretaker for the horses? He seems a bit short. More like a grocer, really. You really think he'll be able to make the horses respect him?" Thorin questioned absently as Óin began wrapping a bandage around his arm. Bilbo felt indignation at Thorin's words, though he wasn't quite sure why. He was used to people doubting his abilities, so it wasn't like it was anything new. Nevertheless, his pride overtook his fear, causing him to stand tall and glare fiercely at Thorin's bowed head.

"I'll have you know I am very qualified for this job, Master Thorin," Bilbo spat out, "I've worked with many difficult horses and they were all tame within a week. Your horses are no different. In the three days I've been here, I've already managed to get most, if not all, to trust me. Does that sound like a 'grocer' to you? I may not seem much, but I can tell you I do my job well. But it doesn't surprise me someone like you couldn't see that." Bilbo said it like an insult, though he wasn't quite sure what he was insulting. All he knew was he was angry at this man for judging him, and wished to be as cutting as possible.

Thorin froze and slowly looked up at Bilbo, a hint of surprise in his eyes before they became expressionless and dark once more. Bilbo felt a flush of pride at having managed to surprise the other man at all. Though it faded quickly as Thorin stood up slowly and stalked over to where Bilbo stood. Bilbo felt his heart stop as the tall and muscular man stood before him, his face unreadable.

"You are my employee. While you live under this roof, you will treat me with respect. I will not have someone like you talking back to me, is that understood?" Thorin growled, parodying Bilbo's words, his glare even more intense up close. But Bilbo, despite his fear, felt his stubbornness surge. Straightening his back, Bilbo looked coolly up at man, a small, tight smile on his face.

"I will not work under a person who does not respect me. I refuse to stand by and listen as someone who doesn't even know me doubts my abilities. I assure you, Master Thorin, that I am quite capable at my job. Respect that, and I will respect you."

Bilbo was positive that Thorin was going to murder him. He looked positively livid, his jaw clenched so tightly Bilbo would have winced in sympathy for the soreness the man would feel later had he not been petrified with fear. 'Stupid stupid stupid!' Bilbo mentally chastised himself, cursing the Took blood that ran through his veins. He knew it would get him killed one day.

Tense minutes passed as Thorin glared at Bilbo, the two focused so intently on each other that they didn't even noticed the other people in the room. Until Dwalin put his hand on Thorin's uninjured shoulder and practically dragged him backwards, that is.

It was as if a bucket of water had been thrown over the two of them. Thorin stood there for a second, blinking owlishly as he was pulled away from his rage. He looked down at Bilbo, giving him one last glare, before turning on his heels and marching out of the room without another word. Bilbo just felt lost, and more confused than he'd ever felt before.

A moment passed in silence between the remaining men, until Balin walked towards Bilbo slowly and placed his hand gently on his shoulder.

"Are you alright lad?" Balin inquired gently, his eyes soft and kind as they looked into Bilbo's. Bilbo shook his head absently.

"No. Yes. I-I don't know." Bilbo answered truthfully. He had no idea how he was feeling. It was almost like he was in a dream. Any second now he'd wake up and find that he hadn't just gotten into a row with his boss, most definitely getting him fired from the first job he'd ever had. Bilbo Baggins didn't do things like that.

Balin gave him a pitying look before gently leading him out of the room and over to the stairs.

"Don't worry laddie. Thorin was just all worked up over the night he had. In the morning everything will be better, you'll see. Now go to your room and try to get some sleep, alright?"

Not having the strength to disagree, Bilbo floated up the stairs, his mind thick with fog. He found his room mechanically, not really paying attention to anything. As he got into bed, still in his dressing gown, he had only one thought.

'Oh Yavanna am I screwed.'

~XoxoxoxoxoxoX~

When Bilbo woke the next morning, he could almost pretend that the last night hadn't happened. If it hadn't been for the vividness of it all, he could have pretended that it had just been a dream. But Bilbo was never one to lie to himself, preferring to face the truth, no matter how harsh said truth was. He messed up. He was going to get fired, and all of this would have been for naught.

Feeling like a lead weight was buried in his stomach, Bilbo slowly got dressed for the day, for once not worrying about how he would need a new set of clothes soon. His mind was still blank, though the world had lost its dreamlike quality. Bilbo was grounded, he just didn't know what to think. What could he think?

The walk down the stairs make him feel like he was walking to his doom, though he chastised himself for having such melodramatic thoughts. 'Calm yourself, Bilbo. Whatever will happen, happens. You'll deal with it like you've dealt with everything in your life thus far. Keep your chin up and keep moving.'

As he entered the dining room he was surprised to see both Kíli and Fíli eating alongside Dori and Balin. They were usually still sleeping at this time. When Kíli noticed him he let out an excited yelp and darted up to get to Bilbo's side, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Mister Baggins, Mister Baggins! Uncle Thorin's back! He's finished with his business and he's back!" Kíli exclaimed happily, grinning widely. "Isn't that great? Now you can meet him and become best friends!"

Bilbo had to take a moment to marvel at the innocence and naivety of children. Even if he hadn't have messed up so terribly last night, he didn't think he'd ever have become best friends with Thorin Oakenshield. The man seemed about as friendly as a shark.

He was saved from having to answer the child when Bombur entered the room with a plate of eggs for Bilbo. Giving the rotund man a weak smile of thanks, Bilbo side stepped Kíli and sat down at his usual place beside Balin.

As glad as Bilbo normally would have been at having the eggs, today he barely tasted them as he became lost in his thoughts. He didn't even notice when Kíli tried to get his attention, quickly growing frustrated at being ignored. Ignoring Balin's warning to leave Bilbo alone, Kíli got up from his seat and climbed onto Bilbo's lap. Startled, Bilbo looked down at the child, who was looking up at him with innocent eyes.

"May I help you?" Bilbo asked, not knowing if he should feel amused or annoyed at the child on his lap. He decided to settle on amused as the child smiled sweetly.

"Yes. You can stop ignoring me. It's rude, you know." Bilbo had to laugh at the matter-of-fact way Kíli had said that, and gave him a soft grin.

"I apologize, little one. I was thinking of something very important and forgot about everything else. It won't happened again."

"What were you thinking about?" Kíli asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. 'Like a puppy,' Bilbo thought.

"It's a secret. Now, may I ask why you're on my lap?"

"Because you were ignoring me! Uncle Thorin does the same thing sometimes, and the only way to get him to pay attention to me is to climb on his lap, like a monkey!" Kíli explained with a large grin. Bilbo let out a small chuckle and grinned back at the boy.

"Now, why don't you go back to your seat so we can finish our breakfast, hmm?" As much as he appreciated the child for distracting him from his thoughts, he would like to get back to his eggs before they grew cold and inedible.

Kíli pouted, and shook his head. "I want to stay here. I can eat while sitting on your lap." Kíli decided with a nod, turning to the table and asking Fíli to pass him his plate, which Fíli did with an amused glance towards Bilbo.

Not sure what to do, Bilbo looked at Balin for advice, only for the older man to shrug with an amused look on his face. Dori wasn't much help either, as he just chuckled at Bilbo's plight. Sighing, Bilbo resigned himself to being a seat for the small child, and began to eat. It wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be, if he was being honest.

The next ten minute was filled with chatter between the two youngest members, though occasionally one of the adults would interject a comment, or answer a question either child would ask. Bilbo thought it felt very homey as he ate his breakfast and looked at the child sitting on his lap. He was going to miss this.

And that one thought made Bilbo stiffen, as he remembered what had happened the previous night and that he was probably never going to have this again. Having lost his appetite, Bilbo put down his fork, sitting back in his chair as his thoughts wandered once more.

It wasn't until he heard Kíli shout "Uncle Thorin!" that Bilbo gained focus again. Dread filling his stomach, Bilbo looked up and felt his heart stop. Standing just inside the doorway was Thorin, the last person he wanted to see. Even dressed in a deep blue work shirt and a pair of loose fitting white cotton slacks, Thorin looked as regal as royalty, Bilbo thought. He couldn't help but feel deeply intimidated, especially when those deep blue eyes of his narrowed in on Bilbo. He wanted nothing better than to cower and hide, but he remained where he was, tightening his hold on Kíli only slightly.

A second passed before Thorin began moving towards the table slowly, sitting down at the head, which had always been left empty before. A tense silence had fallen over the table when Kíli began babbling again, oblivious to the tension. Fíli, however, knew something was going on as he frowned at his uncle. Bombur came out with another plate of eggs which he handed to Thorin, before retreating into the kitchen once more. Thorin slowly began eating, each move looking purposeful as he frowned at his plate.

Minutes had passed before Thorin finally looked up, narrowing his gaze on Bilbo and his nephew. "Kíli. Why are you sitting on Mister Baggins's lap?" Thorin questioned, his frown deepening. Bilbo shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable at the scrutiny.

"Because I like him! He's nice. He played soldiers with me yesterday and promised to tell me about his life at The Shire!" Kíli enthused, grinning his toothy grin. Thorin shot a little glare at Bilbo before returning his gaze on the child.

"So. You like this... Man?" Bilbo had the feeling that Thorin was about to call him something much ruder, but had stopped himself.

Kíli nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh. Me and Mister Baggins are friends! Right, Mister Baggins?"

With Kíli looking up at him with his innocent expression, Bilbo knew he had to agree, even though he had a feeling Thorin wouldn't be very appreciative of this new found friendship.

So, swallowing the lump of fear in his throat, Bilbo forced a grin on his face and nodded. "Of course we are, my boy! Great friends."

Looking satisfied, Kíli returned to eating his eggs, done with the conversation. The rest of the table sat in an uncomfortable silence as they all eventually returned to eating, Fíli looking around at everyone in confusion.

Another five minutes passed before Kíli was done with his meal, slipping off of Bilbo's lap and running upstairs to his room, not bothering to say goodbye.

When his nephew left, Thorin set his fork down and turned his gaze once more onto Bilbo, regarding him coolly.

"Mister Baggins. I believe we have things we need to discuss. If you would follow me." Standing up, Thorin gave Bilbo a look that told him that it wasn't a request. Gulping slightly, Bilbo nodded tightly, standing shakily. Just as Thorin was about to exit the room, Balin stood and grabbed the man's arm, whispering something into his ear. Shaking his head briskly, Thorin pulled his arm back, stalking out of the room. Balin sent Bilbo a sad smile, which Bilbo returned as he followed after Thorin. This was it. He was going to get fired, and he hadn't even worked here a week. How wonderful.

Thorin led Bilbo up the stairs, passed the second floor and on to the third, a level he had never been on before. It looked pretty much the same as the other two levels, but in better condition. The walls to the hallway were a deep purple and the floor boards were mahogany. Thorin led Bilbo through a maze of halls until they reached wherever it was Thorin had wanted to go, which apparently was a large wooden door with small intricate carvings on it.

Unlocking the door with a key he kept around his neck, Thorin entered the room without even looking back at Bilbo. Also entering, though at a slower and more subdued pace, Bilbo looked around this new room.

It wasn't that big, Bilbo noticed. At the center of the room was a big mahogany desk with piles of papers and various objects scattered across it. Along the walls were numerous bookshelves, which Bilbo's fingers would have itched to leaf through had he not felt so terrified. Bilbo had a feeling that this was Thorin's study.

Finished with his examination of the room, Bilbo focused on Thorin once again and found him sitting behind the desk, his arms resting on the table.

"Please, Mister Baggins, take a seat."

Again, Bilbo had the feeling that this was less of a request and more of a demand. Swallowing his indignation at having been told what to do, Bilbo sat down stiffly, looking Thorin in the eyes despite his lingering fear. Thorin looked back coolly.

"I wanted to talk to you about your behavior last night." Thorin started in his deep, rumbling voice. Bilbo felt a thrill of fear roll through him. Thorin paused, staring down at Bilbo with hard eyes. "You were, in some ways, correct."

Bilbo gaped at Thorin, his mouth moving silently as he tried to figure out how to respond. That was not what he had expected. Nor was he expecting the quick twitch of Thorin's lips as he took in Bilbo's dumbfounded expression. It was gone quickly and had barely been noticeable, but Bilbo swore he saw it.

"I was under stress last night and should not have dismissed your... Talents offhand. Nor should I have yelled at you. For that, I apologize. But I still stand by what I said. I will not stand for disrespect from those in my employ. I will not doubt your abilities again, as long as you prove yourself competent and show me the respect I deserve. Am I understood, Mister Baggins."

Part of Bilbo, the Tookish part, wanted to be contrary, to make Thorin realize that Bilbo would not be bullied by anyone. That he would not show him respect unless given a reason to. But the rational part of him knew that this was the best he was going to get, and that he should just be grateful he wasn't going to be fired just yet. Swallowing his pride, Bilbo nodded stiffly.

"I understand you perfectly, Master Thorin. Is this all you wanted to talk about?"

"Indeed." With that, Thorin began rustling around with the things on his desk, as clear a dismissal as Bilbo needed.

He had just been about to leave the room when Thorin called out.

"Wait." Bilbo turned, just in time to catch the little bag that Thorin had tossed at him. Confused, he looked at Thorin in askance. Thorin just stared at his clothing in distaste. "Take the rest of the morning off and go buy yourself some decent clothing. I will not have those in my employ looking like they are homeless." Turning back to his papers, Thorin missed the death glare that Bilbo sent him as he resisted the temptation to stab the other man with the letter opener that was on the desk.

* * *

So, that was Thorin. How did you like him? I hope I got his character mostly okay... Poor guy though. Can't even apologize without offending someone (and if you couldn't tell, the money was his way of apologizing, though badly executed. Silly Thorin, don't you know you're not supposed to offend the person you're apologizing to?) Anyway, as always, leave a comment if you liked the chapter. If not, mind telling me what was wrong with it? I want to make this story the best it can be, so any constructive criticism is very welcome.

Oh! Next chapter there will be a special guest. Exciting, huh? Question though: Who do you want to see in this story, specifically? I'm currently adding the characters in roughly the same order they appear in the book/movies, so if you want to see Bard or Thranduil, you'll have to wait a little bit. But I'm just curious, so I know who to add specifically when the time comes.

Also, as I said earlier, I'm having a bit of trouble with the story. I found a way to add an actual plot in this, but I'm not quite sure how to write it... I've never actually written something with a central plot before, usually focusing more on character interaction and development. So we'll see how everything works out. At least I have a plan. Not a very good plan, but a plan nonetheless. But until I figure everything out, updates will be a bit slow. So, see you next week. :-)


	6. A Day Out On the Town

Hey all. ^-^ New chapter, exciting huh? I wanted to take this time to thank everyone who had left kudos on this story, or commented. I really appreciate it.

Now, before you read, I feel I should tell you that I'm not very happy with this chapter. Like, at all. Well... I guess I should say more that I find it a bit pointless, not necessarily bad. It's more filler than anything. I needed something to buffer the last chapter and the next one, which are both kind of heavy chapters. I've tried fixing this chapter but it kept sounding kind of weird, so I've given up. It's as good as it's gonna get. But if you find that it's not that good, or if you dislike it, know that I understand that. I could either keep obsessing on this chapter or write new, better ones. So. Yeah.

Also, I'll write an explanation on the chapter at the end, so if you are confused on an aspect, I'll hopefully explain it at the end.

* * *

While Bilbo felt incredibly indignant at Thorin's words, he couldn't deny the fact he did look like a homeless man. It was what happened when you only owned one set of day clothing and a borrowed pair of night clothing. Plus, for a little while there he had been homeless, so that was also a factor.

No matter how stubborn Bilbo was, he was also very practical. Refusing the money just because of who gave it to him, and why, would be plain stupid. Bilbo needed clothes and in order to buy clothes, he needed money. So while his pride was feeling very wounded, he would do as Thorin said and go to town to buy his sorely needed clothes.

Stopping at the stables to get his old mare, Bilbo quickly fed the other horses their oats before setting out for the road, Myrtle neighing happily at the attention Bilbo was giving her. He felt a bit bad at having neglected his friend in favor of the other horses, and decided that as soon as he got back he would pay Myrtle more attention during work. She had been his only friend during his long journey here and deserved his affection.

The journey into town was uneventful, though he did get a nice view of the whole farm when he got to the top of the hill. From there, however, it was mostly dust and dead plants along a cracked dirt road. It had clearly not rained here in a while.

Bilbo spent the uneventful journey thinking about the previous day. Or, more accurately, earlier that day. Part of him had the feeling that his boss wasn't as bad as he made himself out to be, but Bilbo couldn't help but dislike the man. Bilbo knew he shouldn't make judgments on people he had just met, but Thorin... Thorin got under his skin in a way no one else had, and it made Bilbo feel uneasy. So, he vowed to stay away from the serious man. He couldn't afford getting angry at him and losing his job.

When Bilbo finally got to town, he decided to look around a little first, to see where everything was. Walking Myrtle over to the little stable near the entrance of town, he paid the man who worked there a bronze piece and gave Myrtle a small pat on her flank before leaving to explore the town.

The town itself was fairly small. According to Balin, there was another town down the road a few miles that was bigger, though this one was big enough to have most of the supplies you'd need in everyday life. He just hoped they had a tailor who would work on his clothes quickly.

Bilbo walked down the road, looking at the various shops he passed on the way. Some looked fancy and high class, while other's looked like they had seen better days. Bilbo wondered if he'd be able to buy what he needed with the bag of coins Thorin had given him.

Ten minutes later, Bilbo saw a tailor shop that looked decent enough, fancy but not over the top, and felt lucky at having found it so quickly. Entering the store, he took in the elegant looking place, admiring the fabrics that were on display everywhere. Bilbo looked through the forest of cloth for a few minutes before seeking out the tailor.

"Uh, hello? Is anyone in here? I'd like to, um, buy some clothes." Bilbo called out, hoping the tailor was in today.

"I would assume you'd want to buy some clothes, why would you be in my store if you weren't?" A smooth voice called from behind Bilbo. Startled, he spun around and came face to face with an elegant looking man. He had medium brown hair that flowed down to his mid back, with an intricate silver circlet crowning his head. His clothes were long and flowing, with silver threaded details. Bilbo thought the man looked more like a noble Lord rather than a simple tailor, but it wasn't Bilbo's place to make judgments.

"Ah, yes I suppose you're right." Bilbo replied, feeling a bit wrong footed. The other man continued to stare at him, causing Bilbo to continue speaking. "I, um, will need a few pairs of cotton work shirts and a couple pair of cotton slacks, if you don't mind."

The man continued to stare for a moment longer, before beckoning Bilbo to follow him.

"Do you have any preference of color?" The elegant man asked as they walked to the measuring area. Bilbo shook his head, not particularly caring what color he was dressed in, just as long as he was dressed in something other than his ratty clothes.

"Anything is fine with me. Just as long as it's strong enough that it won't tear during work."

Humming his approval, the elegant man gestured for Bilbo to get on top of the platform so that he could take Bilbo's measurements.

"Take off your shirt and pants so I can begin." Doing as the man said, Bilbo stripped and got on the platform. Bilbo then held his arms out so the man could begin his measuring.

"You certainly are in need of new clothing." The man commented as he measured. "These won't last you much longer."

Bilbo nodded but said nothing. Frankly he wasn't sure what to say. The man intimidated him slightly, as he had a sense of power to him. Not like the power Gandalf had, but like the power a king has over his people. A sense of calm dignity that demanded respect.

The rest of the measuring passed in silence as the man worked and Bilbo did as directed. Once done, the man walked smoothly away, leaving Bilbo standing awkwardly behind.

Bilbo stood there for a couple minutes before the man came back, some fabric and threads in his hands. He noticed a bunch of greens and yellows and felt relief at the color choice. He liked green.

"Do these colors look satisfactory to you? I know you said you had no preference, but I'd rather not have you come back and be appalled at my color choice."

Bilbo nodded his head. "Those colors look perfect, thank you. How long until they should be done?"

"I should be done with the initial sewing in an hour. Come in then and I will hem them to you."

"Ah. Thank you, Mister..."

"Elrond. Just call me Elrond."

Nodding once more, Bilbo thanked the man before getting dressed and leaving the store. Seeing as he had an hour before his clothes would be done, Bilbo decided to use the time wandering the town, visiting the other stores. He didn't have the money just yet to buy anything other than his clothes, but it wouldn't hurt to look around and see what else was here.

The next hour was mostly spent in various shops, Bilbo getting used to the town and its inhabitants. The people here were friendly, though they seemed a bit distant. He noticed many people looking at him curiously, and Bilbo couldn't help but wonder if it was because of his newness or because of his disheveled appearance. He hoped it was the former.

When the hour had finally passed, Bilbo exited the small bakery he had entered and strolled back to the tailor. He entered the store once again, the wave of green and blue cloth soothing to the eyes.

"Come this way, Mister Baggins." A voice called in front of him. Bilbo smiled at Elrond, deciding not to question how the man knew his name, and followed him to the back room where the little platform was. Stripping his clothes once more, Bilbo got on the box and stood as the elegant man flowed towards his mannequins to get the first shirt. Pulling it over Bilbo's head gently, the man began hemming it to Bilbo, shortening sleeves and fixing the neckline. Elrond asked some polite questions about Bilbo, which Bilbo answered as truthfully as he could. It was pleasant, and Bilbo felt at ease here in this little shop. It was a few minutes later that Elrond began asking about his new home.

"I've never seen you around the town before." Elrond stated as he pinned the shirt. Bilbo nodded absently.

"That's because I just moved here. I live down the road, at Erebor Farm, but before that I lived in the Shire."

Elrond paused in his work to give Bilbo a searching look.

"A long ways from home then." Elrond continued pinning the sleeves. Bilbo nodded a bit wistfully.

"Yes. I miss it sometimes, but Erebor is amazing. I'm finding myself growing attached to the place. The only problem is... Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. Over all the place is brilliant." Bilbo flushed a little at his little fumble. He didn't want to burden the man with his problems. He had already been so kind. Elrond raised his eyebrows at Bilbo.

"The only problem is what, Mister Baggins?" The other man asked inquiringly. Bilbo debated whether he should speak or not, but Elrond seemed interested enough. Besides, the man had an air about him that made Bilbo want to spill his deepest secrets.

"It's just my employer, Thorin... We had a bit of a row the other day, at our first meeting no less. He demands my respect of him, yet gives me little reason to want to. He's very intense, and I'm not sure I like it. He always glares and is rude and he's... He's just... He's unexpected, and I don't know what to do about him." Bilbo finished, his face still red with flush. He felt a bit foolish complaining about his boss to a man he barely knew, but he did have to admit he felt better afterwards. He felt a bit guilty at having said all of these things about a man he knew only the basics about, but at the moment Bilbo didn't really care. He was entitled to a little pettiness now and then, was he not?

"You've made all these observations after only a day of knowing him?" Elrond questioned, a small frown on his face. Bilbo felt his face flush even brighter at having been called out.

"W-well... Yes. But it's not just from my personal observations! It's from what the others tell me. He's intense. He's very serious. He doesn't like people he doesn't know. So it's not only me." Bilbo defended, though he knew his argument was weak.

"Sounds to me that you're not giving your employer a good enough chance. I know Thorin Oakenshield, have ever since he was a small child. He has lost much in his life, and bore it all while caring for two younger siblings. His seriousness comes from the challenges life has brought him. His intensity comes from his desire to never be caught unaware. He trusts no one but those closest to him because everyone else had betrayed him. Do not judge Thorin Oakenshield before you know the reason why he is the way he is. His story is a tragic one, and I do not use that word lightly." Elrond spoke with a quiet passion, like Thorin's story affected him personally.

"You seem to know a lot about Thorin." Bilbo stated softly, looking back at the other man. Elrond smiled sadly.

"He and I were in similar positions, once. I moved on, realizing life is cruel but that you cannot stay lost in the past. Thorin, however, clings to his past like a child clings to their mother. He refuses to let go, and because of that I feel sorrow for him. He will never be able to move on from his troubles, and thus will never be able to fully heal. I invested my interest in him when he was still a boy, admiring his tenacity and righteousness. But I fear those very same traits will be his downfall." Elrond finished, his eyes sad and ancient. The man couldn't have been much older than fifty, yet at the moment he looked a millennia old.

The rest of the fitting took place in silence, since Bilbo had no idea what he could say to that. He realized that Elrond was correct. He had been too hasty in his judgment of Thorin, especially since he had only known the man for less than a day. No amount of pettiness could excuse that. Bilbo amended his previous vow, vowing now that he would keep an open mind about his employer from then on. He didn't promise to like the man, but he would at least give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, Fíli and Kíli seemed to love him, so he couldn't be all that bad, could he?

Finally Elrond was finished hemming his shirts, moving on next to the pants. They began a light conversation on the different materials that Elrond had in his store, since Bilbo had a small amount of knowledge of fabrics. Bilbo also talked a bit about his work with the horses, smiling as he thought of them.

When Elrond was finally done with the clothing, it was around midday, the sun high in the sky. Bilbo thanked the man profusely, thrilled at the beautiful new clothing he now had. Despite the fact the clothes were simple in nature, Elrond made them look like the grandest of fine wear. Elrond waved off his thanks.

"It is my job, Mister Baggins. One I am very good at." Not disputing that, Bilbo paid the man and left the store, wearing one of his new outfits; a light yellow shirt paired with rich green trousers. Realizing that it was time to get back to the farm, Bilbo returned to the stable where he had left Myrtle and retrieved his faithful steed. Knowing he had wasted enough time that day, he began the trip back to the farm, feeling much better than he had when he'd set out.

Talking with Elrond had soothed over much of the anger and indignation that he had felt at Thorin. He still was a bit peeved at how the man spoke to him, but he supposed the man did have a right to ask for his respect. Thorin was the boss and Bilbo was the employee. Like it or not, Bilbo had to at least fake respect for the man. It was how the world worked. He couldn't get angry at Thorin just because he had acted disrespectfully towards him. And who knew, maybe Thorin was actually a wonderful person and their initial and secondary meetings were just flukes. Unlikely, but possible.

Regardless, Bilbo would have to act like a responsible adult and reign in his pride. Having decided, Bilbo put it out of his mind, letting his thoughts drift as he rode Myrtle home.

Bilbo didn't even notice until he had entered the farm ground that he thought of it as home now. Huh.

* * *

So. That was the chapter. Not my best work, but eh. Now, my explanation.

I needed Bilbo to not hate Thorin. That was the main point of this chapter. I cannot write angry characters, not for long, mainly because I'm not an angry person. I'm very laid back, and it's hard for me to write anger. This chapter made it so Bilbo would only dislike Thorin, instead of outright hating him.

Now as to why I had Elrond be a tailor... I don't know. I really like Elrond and wanted to write him. Also, I needed someone to make Bilbo see sense. I considered having it be Balin, but in the end decided on Elrond. Later on in the story I'll go further into Elrond, why he's a tailor in Dale, What happened to him to make him relate to Thorin, etcetera etcetera. Not for a little while, though. For now I'll just say that everything will, hopefully, make sense later.

I hope that you liked this chapter, and that if you didn't, you'll keep reading this story and understand that I just had a lot of trouble with this chapter. I may rewrite it later, if I ever get the chance. If it makes you feel any better, the next chapter is my favorite so far. It introduces the plot and the main conflict. So there is that.

Anyway, see y'all next week. ^-^


	7. Problems

New chapter up two days early, since I'm busy this weekend and am not sure if I'll be home in enough time to post. It's my brother's 21st birthday on the 10th, and we're celebrating it tomorrow with my grandparents, and on Sunday with just us(my mother, father, brother and I.)

So I'm introducing the plot in this chapter. Exciting. I had some problems writing this chapter, but I think it's as good as it's going to get. I actually kind of like it, even. Hope y'all do too.

Enjoy. ^-^

* * *

The rest of Bilbo's week passed by quickly, with nothing of note happening. He spent most of his days either out with the horses or talking to the others. He barely even saw Thorin, as the man had spent most of his days locked up in his room or his study. He felt very relieved at that. While he may have resolved to give the other man the benefit of the doubt, he still felt very sore over his comments during that first meeting.

For the first couple of days, Bilbo felt thrilled at how nicely he had settled into farm life. He had been afraid, initially, that he wouldn't be able to fit in. It made sense; Bilbo had spent the majority of his life living comfortably, never doing much more work that cleaning or cooking. Once his parents died he took care of the horses, of course, but caring for creatures for pleasure was a lot different than doing it as work. And there was the fact he wasn't sure how well he'd get along with his fellow farm hands. He had thought that living alone for five years might make talking to the other's difficult. But he had underestimated his fellows. Well... Some of them at least.

He was quickly becoming good friends with Balin and Bofur. They would always talk to him with such ease, making it easy for Bilbo to fit into the flow of conversation. He would listen to stories of their childhood and youths, telling his own stories in exchange. He spoke to Balin in the mornings at breakfast, and would speak to Bofur when the man would clean the stables during work. It was better than Bilbo could have hoped for.

Bilbo also got along well with the other men, he supposed, but they were more distant with him. Before Thorin showed up, things were fine. Everyone was nice and friendly. But after he arrived things got... Tense, Bilbo supposed was the right word.

It was like there was a fog over the whole group. Bilbo started noticing it in the eyes of all the men when he tried to talk to them. Even Balin and Bofur had the look, though they hid it well. The tension built as the days passed, and Bilbo's good feelings started to fade as the tension grew. By the end of the week Bilbo was incredibly curious and anxious over what exactly it was that made everyone so upset.

He had even asked Balin about it, in a roundabout way so it didn't seem like he was rude, but Balin just smiled sadly and shook his head.

"Nothing to worry about, laddie. Just some... Financial trouble. It'll pass over soon, I'm sure of it."

But Bilbo could not help but worry. Financial troubles were why he was even here, after all. So as the days passed, Bilbo's contentment faded completely and his worry grew. He was curious and worried, and wanted desperately to know what was going on. For a week he worried before he finally found out what was going on, though it was not intentionally.

The day had started off normally. Bilbo woke at dawn and went downstairs to eat breakfast. As he entered the dining room, he heard Kíli let out an excited squeal and rush over to him, chattering about this and that. Ever since Thorin arrived at the house, the children had been rising earlier than before. They seemed oblivious to the dark mood that was troubling the adults, going on as they normally did, simply happy their uncle was home and that they had a new playmate. Bilbo didn't mind all that much, and simply resigned himself to being a human jungle gym for Kíli.

After breakfast was over with, Bilbo left for the stables, admiring the way the sun rose over the fields of grain. He had been at the farm for almost two weeks and yet it still took his breath away sometimes. It really was peaceful here.

Time passed quickly for Bilbo, as he fed and exercised the horses, as they finally trusted him enough to let him lead them around outside. He barely noticed the sun going down as he worked.

It was late when Bilbo finally decided to call it quits and eat dinner, the sun having gone down a long time before. Bilbo felt nervous about the darkness that filled the fields, making them feel much less friendly, and hurried to the house and into the darkened kitchen. As he took a bowl of cold stew and entered the dining room, he saw that no one was there, considering the late hour. Bilbo wasn't quite sure what the other men did when not working, but as it didn't involve him, he had never bothered asking. Sitting at his usual spot at the table, Bilbo ate quickly, not liking the shadows that danced around the walls. Ever since he had been a child, the dark had scared him. As he got older, his fear faded, but never left completely.

It was when he was cleaning his bowl at the sink that he heard the voices coming from outside, sounding slightly angry. Already jittery about the shadows, Bilbo jumped. He put his bowl down carefully, and slunk over to the window, though it was too dark to see anything.

He could hear the voices getting louder as they approached the door. It was obviously an important discussion, if the inflection to the tone of voice being used was any indication. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but he could tell that one of the people was Thorin, his deep voice resonating and very distinctive, and he did not sound happy. At all. Bilbo was about to run up to his room to escape confrontation, before pausing. 'What if they're talking about whatever is going on with the farm?' Bilbo pondered.

He felt his mind warring with itself as he stayed frozen to his spot. On one hand, he hated confrontations and fights. He didn't want to get caught, especially after what had happened last time. But on the other hand, he really wanted to know what was going on, why everyone was so glum... Finally making a snap decision, he jumped into the pantry, the closest hiding place he could reach, closing the door behind him. The door was thin enough that he could hear everything if he pressed his ear against the door.

Bilbo instantly wanted to smack himself, of course. 'Oh wonderful. Making a habit of eavesdropping, hmm Baggins?' He thought wryly, yet made no attempt to get up, feeling almost petrified. Heart hammering, he just hoped that whoever it was would stand around and talk in the kitchen, so that he could hear.

To his luck, a second later the door to the kitchen from the outside opened, making the voices a lot less muffled.

"-sure everything will work out, Thorin. It's not that much money-" Balin's voice said, sounding falsely optimistic, like he was trying to make a bad situation sound better than it was.

"Twenty gold pieces, Balin. Twenty. Not to mention the ten they demanded of us the week before." Thorin growled. Bilbo heard heavy boots stomp around the kitchen, before stopping. He heard the scrap of a chair and felt relieved that they intended on staying in the kitchen. His heart started to slow as he settled into his position, his curiosity wining against his panic at being caught.

He heard a pair of footsteps following Thorin's and two more chairs being pulled out. A heavy sigh sounded, followed by a small cough.

"We can find the money. We can always sell a pig if we have to. Lila had her babies the other day, so we have some to spare now. It'll work out Thorin." Balin soothed. Thorin let out a small scoff but said nothing.

"We shouldn't have to pay at all. They keep adding on ridiculous new laws, ones designed specifically for us. Damn that Smaug." A third voice growled. It took Bilbo a second to place the voice as Dwalin.

"Be that as it may, there's not much we can do about it, hm? We've tried fighting and it's gotten us nowhere. Maybe it's time we just accepted our fate." Balin stated calmly. Dwalin snorted.

"'Accepted our fate?' After everything they've done to us? No. We have to fight this, or else they'll just walk all over us! You know they will. Thorin, you agree with me."

There was a long pause here. Bilbo wondered what was going on, if he was missing any visual clues or whatnot.

"I think... I think that Balin might be right. I'm not happy about it, but maybe we should just... Accept out fate." Thorin sounded... Tired. Like all the fight had gone out of him. He heaved a sigh as Dwalin let out a noise of incredulity.

"Thorin. We've been fighting this for twelve years. We can't just give up now! You know that. You've been saying that for years! Never give up, never let those bastards win." There was a pause. "Something isn't right. Hasn't been right since you came back. What exactly happened while you were away?" Dwalin demanded, his tone sharp.

Another pause. "I found out what happened with Dís. The specifics."

A heavy silence filled the room at that, as Bilbo tried to remember who 'Dís' was. He knew he had heard the name he just wasn't quite sure... Oh. Fíli and Kíli's mother, Thorin's sister or sister-in-law. Bilbo wasn't sure which one, though he was sure they must be related somehow, considering the children called him 'Uncle'.

"So what exactly did you learn?" Bilbo heard Balin ask carefully, minutes later. Thorin let out a deep breath.

"It was him. He was responsible." Thorin sounded completely drained. Like there was nothing in him anymore. It scared Bilbo.

Another silence passed over the group, before Balin spoke once again, this time in a softer voice.

"And what do you plan to do about it?"

"What can I do, Balin? He has taken so much from me. From us. Every time I try and oppose him, he takes more. What else can I do that I've not done before? What else will he take from me if I dare try?" Bilbo did not like the resigned tone Thorin's voice had gained. It seemed... Unnatural, somehow.

"I've spent the last week and a half thinking about this. I've gone over every angle. I've spent so long plotting my revenge and now he took one of the only things I had left. She told me to move on, but I refused. And now she's paid for my mistake."

"And that's all the more reason to fight back!" Dwalin roared, slamming his hands on a table. Bilbo jumped at the sudden noise, not expecting it.

"He's taken so much, Thorin. We cannot let that bastard win! We can't let him have the satisfaction of breaking us. Thorin, we have to strike back. We can't just give up!"

There was a sudden scrapping noise, and a loud thump. Bilbo wanted so badly to see what was going on, but that would mean leaving his hiding place.

"You think I want to? You think I want to let that... That worm win?! I don't want this, Dwalin! I've never wanted this! But what happens if I continue this, and it's Fíli or Kíli who get hurt? How can I forgive myself if I get one of them killed?! How?!" Thorin roared, his voice breaking slightly at the end.

The silence that followed was as thick as tar. There was nothing except the sound of Thorin's heavy breathing, and Bilbo almost braved a peek to see what was happening. Before he worked up the courage, however, Dwalin spoke, his voice whisper quiet. Bilbo pressed against the door and strained his ears to hear the whole thing.

"I know Thorin. I know. But she deserves to be avenged. _They_ deserve to be avenged. We're close, Thorin. I know we are. We can't give up now. Not after everything."

A pause.

"And if they get hurt?"

"We won't let them get hurt. We'll keep them safe."

Another heavy sigh was released, and then there was the sound of footsteps.

"Fine." Thorin's voice was a lot closer, and sounded resigned. But also a bit... Relieved. Like he hadn't wanted to give up, but simply thought it was the only option. "We'll keep going. What other choice do we have?"

"You don't have to do this laddie. We can stop now, live out the rest of our lives. Maybe even be happy." Balin said softly. Thorin let out a bitter laugh.

"That was never an option. Not for me. No, we'll keep going. Dwalin is right, we can't stop. Not now. Not with all he's taken from us. Not when he took... I won't stop. Not until we've won. Or until I'm dead."

Thorin sounded so determined, which scared Bilbo even more than when he had sounded dejected. He didn't know who this person was that they were talking about, nor what he had initially done. But if he had already killed someone...

"This isn't what she would have wanted."

"I don't care what she would have wanted, Balin! She's dead. She's dead, and it's because of him." Thorin's voice shook with emotion, though Bilbo could tell he was swallowing it back. "We'll proceed as planned. Therefore, I'll be leaving in the morning. I need to follow up that lead if we want to get anywhere. I should be gone for the next week or two."

There was more shuffling.

"Thorin..." Balin paused, then sighed tiredly, "If this is what you want, then I will stand by you laddie. If you truly think it's best."

"I don't know what's best anymore. But I can't stop now. I... I can't." Thorin murmured back.

"I know laddie. I know." Balin sighed again. "Alright. I'll tell Mister Baggins to get the horses ready to leave in the morning."

"Don't bother. I'll do it myself." With that, Thorin left the room, his footsteps reverberating across the floor. Soon after Thorin left, the brother's left as well, whisper softly amongst themselves. Bilbo stayed where he was, processing everything he had just heard.

Part of him wished he had never listened in on this conversation. It was obviously not meant for his ears and the things he had learned... He wished he could just forget the whole thing. But the rest of him knew there was no point wishing. He had heard what he had heard, and that was that. He decided to push the conversation from his mind, though, to not think on it. It wasn't his place.

Slowly, after several minutes had passed and he was sure everyone had gone, Bilbo opened the door to the pantry and slipped out, silent as a mouse. He creeped up the stairs softly, avoiding the creaky steps, and darted into his bedroom.

He changed out of his day clothes and into his night ones, climbing into bed, feeling incredibly exhausted. He fervently hoped that things would work out alright, that whatever it is Thorin was looking for would be found. He hoped that nothing would happen to anyone on the farm, least of all Kíli or Fíli. But most of all, he hoped that all of this, his pleasant life on the farm, would last. That this wouldn't be a dream that he would wake up from and find himself in a nightmare. It had happened before, and he had no intention of it ever happening again. But what could he do other than pray, if it was out of his hands? And so Bilbo prayed, for the first time in years, before succumbing to sleep.

'Dear Yavanna, please keep them safe. Please keep this little farm lasting. Don't let this fade. Let me keep this one thing, please.'

* * *

So, that's the plot set up. What do you think? Like it, hate it, indifferent? By the way, this story is a complete AU, meaning I'm not going to follow the timeline of The Hobbit, but I will follow some of the plot points. Not sure if that makes sense, but basically I'm going to have my own plot, not following The Hobbit, like I've seen many AU's do. I will have scenes that are similar to ones in the Hobbit, but they won't be in any particular order... You'll see what I mean later, if you decide to keep reading this story.

I made Thorin leave again. Whoops. Don't worry though, he's back in the ninth chapter, and he's in the tenth one a lot, so that's good. There might even be a couple of scenes between Bilbo and Thorin in the tenth. :-) I don't know when the Bagginshield will happen, but I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible. So it probably won't be anytime soon. Sorry. Oh, and just so you know, there will be absolutely no smut in this story... I don't write it and am not a big fan of it in general, so if you're expecting smut, you've come to the wrong place.

Anyway, thanks again for reading this story; I hope I'm not messing everything up. I'm not really a writer, nor did I ever want to be one. You might ask why I'm writing a story, to which I reply with an 'I don't know, seemed like a good idea at the time,' and a small shrug. Honestly, I'm really out of my depth in writing, so it is relieving to know that people actually like the story and that I'm not completely messing up. Oh! But if anyone spots any mistakes, in spelling or grammar or anything, mind telling me? I write this story in the middle of the night on my iPod, since that's the only time I can find to write, and writing on an iPod isn't the easiest thing in the world. Therefore, I sometimes mess up and don't catch the mistake later on while rereading, and I don't have a beta or whatever they're called. So if you see any mistakes, just point it out, I'll be sure to fix it as soon as I can find the time. Thanks. See y'all next week. :-)


	8. Nightmares

It's Sunday, you know what that means. Yep, new chapter. Exciting.

So I had some trouble with this chapter, which is why it might seem a bit odd or awkward in places. Honestly I'm not even bothering to reread it again, so I'm hoping it sounds okay. If you're confused on anything, just ask and I'll explain. This chapter is kind of a filler chapter, but it is necessary I think in order to build up things that are going to happen.

As for updates in the future... I'm almost out of the chapters I've already written. I have the next one, and that's it. I'm working on the tenth chapter, but I've been very busy this week and have had almost no time or energy to write. Hopefully things should be better by next week, since I took my SATs yesterday and that's now out of my life forever, unless I utterly failed them. So I'll try to keep writing, but I have no guarantees.

Now I'll shut up and let you read the chapter now. Please leave a comment if you liked it or if you see any mistakes. Thanks. :-)

* * *

The next day dawned bright and sunny, not matching Bilbo's mood at all. After having fallen asleep, he had found himself plagued with nightmares of dark shadows and fire that burned. He could still feel the lingering heat of it on his skin, the acrid taste of the smoke bitter on his tongue. He remembered the fear he felt as the flames licked his skin, burning it away until there was nothing left. It had been years since he had a nightmare that terrible, and as he remembered the conversation he had heard the night before, it did not surprise him that he had had it. Stress always made him have bad dreams, though they weren't usually been that bad... He wondered briefly what the fire meant, but gave up after only a moment or two. He'd never been good at deciphering dreams.

Walking down the stairs, he could hear the sounds of the dining room, the clatter of cutlery and the chatter of the men drifting. Bilbo entered the room silently, nodding briefly to Dori as the man greeted him politely. Bilbo took his seat and grabbed a scone that was in the centre of the table, buttering it absently. He sat quietly as he ate, focussing on nothing in particular. The other two must have noticed that Bilbo was in no mood to talk, as they left him alone.

Balin looked tired, Bilbo noticed when he finally played attention to his surroundings again. He was chatting with Dori as he always did, his demeanor normal, but Bilbo could see the tension in his aging face, the stress and worry taking its toll. Balin hid it well, and had Bilbo not known what to look for, he'd never have seen it. He could see how much the older man cared for Thorin and this farm, and Bilbo fiercely hoped that things would work out.

It was as he had finished his first scone that Bilbo noticed that the children were missing. They had been up for breakfast for the past week and a half, and Bilbo wondered where they were, even going so far as to break his silence to ask.

"They're off sulking." Balin supplied with a fond, if a bit sad, smile. "Thorin left early this morning on business again, not having time to say goodbye. The boys did not take kindly to that, and are brooding in their room. I wouldn't expect to see them up at breakfast time anymore if I were you laddie. They only wake early when their Uncle is here."

Bilbo nodded absently.

"Thorin left? So soon? Why?" Bilbo questioned, even though he knew the answer. He wanted to know how much of the conversation was a secret and how much would become public knowledge.

"He has some business to take care of on the other side of the mountain. He should be back in a week or two, not that long." Was Balin's reply, his face betraying nothing. Bilbo nodded again, focussing on his scone and growing quiet once more. A sense of unease passed over him, though he wasn't quite sure why.

Finishing his breakfast soon after, Bilbo excused himself and exited the house quickly, starting to feel anxious for reasons he did not want to think of. He strode across the field of growing wheat, not bothering to take in the gorgeous view like he normally did. His mind was too muddled to even notice it, really.

When Bilbo finally arrived at the stables, he had to let out a sigh of relief at the sense of mild serenity that gradually washed over him. The scent of hay and the horses calmed his racing mind down, allowing him the chance to forget his worries and just be. It was how he had survived the past five years, even with all the trouble he had had with money. Something about horses calmed him like nothing else ever could.

And so Bilbo worked for hours in the stables, exercising the horses and watching over them as they grazed lazily in the fenced field. He stopped only for a quick lunch at noon, heading back to the stables immediately after. When the sun started to go down, Bilbo almost didn't want to go in, but his growling stomach made itself known. Soon, he was packing his supplies up and heading back indoors, the feeling of peace fading with each step he took, reality taking its place.

He entered the kitchen noiselessly, the racket from the next room sinking Bilbo's spirits even farther. He didn't know why he was so reluctant to join them, when he had always enjoyed the din before; but today he just felt sick as he entered the dining room at last, grabbing a bowl of food from Bombur as he took his seat.

The group was more subdued today than they had been previously, clearly feeling the absence of their employer. The two children were the most sullen, glaring into their bowls in silent protest. Bilbo assumed that Fíli was more hurt that his uncle would leave without saying goodbye than the fact he was gone, while Kíli was just missing the man. Either way, the mood was brought down, though everyone tried valiantly to lighten the mood.

Bilbo himself just ate his stew quietly, saying nothing to anyone. His mind was filled with jumbled thoughts, his tired brain unable to make sense of them. He tried to focus on the flow of conversation, but found himself unable. He was too tired, mentally and physically, to pay any attention at all. So he ate and drifted, not focussing on anything.

When dinner ended, Bilbo stood slowly, exiting the room without a word. He thought he heard someone calling his name, but he didn't stop. He climbed the stairs and found his room, collapsing on the bed face down, eyes shut tight.

He didn't know what was wrong with him. He hadn't felt so lethargic and worn down in years. Maybe it was the nightmare, or the lack of sleep, or maybe it was the conversation he had heard the night before. All Bilbo knew was that he felt out of sorts, weary and drained. He stayed lying face down for minutes, just breathing in and out. Once he finally felt almost normal, he got up and changed into his night things, running a hand through his hair tiredly. Getting into bed, Bilbo stared up at the ceiling of his room, trying vainly to force his mind to sleep.

When he finally slept, his sleep was once more plagued with nightmares, these ones even worse than the previous night's. Instead of a vast empty room with a fire in it, it was the farm that was burning. He could hear whispered voices, accusing and harsh as he stared in frozen horror at the flames. He tried to make himself move, to help, but his legs didn't seem to work. He awoke in a cold sweat while the sky was still pitch black, his mind and heart racing.

He stared up at the ceiling for a long while after that, afraid to sleep. He didn't want to see the fire, not again. But eventually he fell into slumber, the fire indeed returning. Now, however, he was inside the house, watching as everything burned. At one point he could see Thorin in front of him, a calm expression on his face even as the flames engulfed him whole. The whispers began to crescendo, voices shouting nonsense at him as he stood there, unable to move at all.

When Bilbo finally woke for good, it was almost an hour before dawn, he figured. Not wishing to have any more nightmares, he sluggishly got up, changing slowly. He went downstairs and entered the dining room, blurry eyed with exhaustion. He took his seat, the other inhabitants of the table staring at him curiously.

"You're up early." Nori observed, giving Bilbo an inquisitive look. Ori, who sat next to his brother, looked with slight concern. Bilbo noted with mild relief that the brothers were the only two at the table, meaning he wouldn't have to deal with too many people.

"Yes well. Couldn't sleep, I suppose. Nothing too serious." Bilbo replied with false cheer, his smile tight on his face. Nori just raised an eyebrow.

"Did you have a bad dream? I used to get those all the time. You should try meditation before bed. That helped me a lot." Ori piped in almost hesitantly, giving Bilbo a timid smile. Bilbo hadn't really talked to the sixteen year old before, but he had seen him helping around the farm occasionally. Bilbo gave him a slight, grateful smile.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to try that."

"What did you dream about? I hear that dreams have meanings, and sometimes they can help you figure out certain problems you're having." Ori told, more confidently.

"Ah. Well, it was nothing, really. Don't even remember, to be honest. Probably meaningless." Bilbo lied. He didn't want to tell anyone of his dreams. They freaked him out too much. Ori nodded, oblivious to Bilbo's lie.

"Oh, okay. If they get too bad, try talking to Óin. He helped me when I was younger." Ori gave Bilbo one more slightly awkward smile, before turning back to his breakfast. Nori continued to stare at Bilbo suspiciously for another minute before returning to his own meal.

Bilbo ate slowly, his brain tired and slow. In his mind he could still see the fire, still hear the voices. Finally, a few minutes later, Bilbo shook his head and decided to just move on. His nightmares were only dreams, they meant nothing. He had had a troubling time this past month. First he lost his home, then he moved halfway across the world to work on a farm, only to then find out that there was danger looming in the distance, threatening to take his new found home away from him. It made sense that he would have nightmares after all that. And so, Bilbo sat up straight, finished his porridge, and set out for work despite the early hour, saying a muted cheerful goodbye to Nori and Ori. Bilbo still felt exhausted, but he could deal with exhausted, as long as he kept his spirits up.

The rest of the day passed quickly as he worked, focussing on nothing but the horses. When dinner rolled around, Bilbo even managed to participate in the conversation a bit, getting into a debate with Bofur on the best kind of hay for horses. The group was still a bit subdued, but livelier than they had been the night before.

When he went to bed that night, he tried Ori's advice and meditated, clearing his mind and focussing on his breathing. He'd never tried to mediate before, and wasn't quite sure if he was doing it correctly or not. Half an hour later Bilbo called it quits, his exhaustion too much to ignore. Lying down, he hoped that his sleep would be free of nightmares.

However, they were not. Instead, Bilbo was in the middle of a long tunnel, with no end in sight. Bilbo walked for what felt like miles, unease filling him. Just when he felt like he was about to go mad from the nothingness, he saw a light at the end of it, which caused him to start running, hope filling him. Just as he was about to reach the end, however, he ground beneath his feet disappeared, causing him to fall into a dark pit, so dark he could only see his hands in front of him. At his back he could feel heat, and with a furiously beating heart, he turned. There he saw the fire, burning, always burning. It danced in front of him, taunting him.

"Burn, burn. It'll all burn." A voice whispers in his ear, causing him to shiver. "You will burn. You will be destroyed. I will destroy you."

Just then, Bilbo saw himself, battered and bloody, standing within the fire. His doppelgänger had a pained expression on its face, as the fire licked its skin but did not burn. The doppelgänger turned its face towards Bilbo, eyes blank and lifeless, even though the face was grimacing.

"No hope. No hope. All will burn. You will burn. No hope." Its voice was all wrong, high pitched and crackling. Bilbo tried to take a step back, only to fall once more, the dark engulfing him. Just before he hit the ground, he awoke with a jolt, breathing heavily, his heart pounding.

Bilbo scrambled from his bed, sweat dripping into his eyes, getting dressed hurriedly. He could see the beginnings of dawn entering his room, causing him great relief. He promised himself that he would talk to Óin the first chance he could today, wanting an end to these nightmares.

Breakfast went on as usual that day, only Balin present since Dori had woken early. He chatted with Balin lightly as he ate his scone, though his heart wasn't really in it. Balin looked at him with concern, asking if something wrong. Bilbo replied with a negative and a false smile. Balin let the matter drop, though he clearly was still concerned.

Bilbo had his chance to talk with Óin after lunch, catching the elder man as he exited the dining room.

"What is it you want?" Óin asked, eyebrows raised. Bilbo shuffled slightly.

"I, uh, have been having some bad dreams lately. Ori said that you, that you might be able to help?" Bilbo stated nervously. Óin stared at him for a second before nodding.

"I could. Come, Mister Baggins." Óin led Bilbo through the bottom floor of the house, through rooms that Bilbo had never even seen before. Finally they stopped at a quaint little room, filled with various bottles and herbs. Bilbo assumed this must have been Óin's office.

Óin entered the room, and started rustling through some of the herbs, picking up a few as he went. Finally he stopped, walking over to the small stone mortar he had, grinding the herbs into a paste which he then added to a liquid Bilbo could not identify. After stirring it up, Óin poured it into a little bottle, which he then handed to Bilbo.

"Here. Take a sip of this right before bed each day, it should help." Óin told, turning away from Bilbo to clean up his area.

"Ah. Well, thank you. This is much appreciated."

Bilbo turned to leave, but before he could exit the room, he heard Óin speak again.

"While that will help you with the nightmares, it will not help with whatever is troubling you, laddie. Only resolving your problems will make the nightmares leave completely. Remember that."

Bilbo hesitated at the doorway, but did not turn around. He swallowed thickly.

"I'll keep that in mind."

With that, Bilbo scurried away, rushing out to the stables where he spent the rest of the day holed away, the bottle safely hidden in his pocket.

When the sun went down, Bilbo entered the house, dinner just beginning. He sat down, ate his food, and listened to what everyone was talking about, but he did not participate. After dinner was finished, he made to go to his room, but was stopped by someone calling his name.

Turning, Bilbo faced Ori, who was standing by the door to the dining room with a sheepish look on his face.

"I wanted to know if your nightmares were any better. If my advice helped or not." Ori explained, looking at Bilbo earnestly. Bilbo didn't quite know what to say

"Oh, uh... well... The meditation didn't really... Well, work. But, I talked to Óin and he said that if I drank this concoction I should be fine, so that's good." Bilbo reassured, feeling slightly awkward. Ori gave him a small grin.

"Good, I'm glad. But if you ever, you know..." Ori paused with a cough, looking slightly embarrassed, "Need someone to talk to or anything, you can come to me. If you want. I know how bad nightmares can get, so..."

Bilbo felt a rush of fondness for the boy in front of him, and gave him an easy smile.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Thank you Ori."

Ori grinned widely.

"No problem. Goodnight, Mister Baggins. Hope you sleep well."

"So do I, my boy. So do I."

With a wave goodbye, Bilbo walked up the stairs, entering his room soon after. Changing, Bilbo placed the bottle on his night stand, hoping it would help chase the nightmares away.

Bilbo sat down on the bed and opened the stopper on the bottle. Taking a sniff, he grimaced lightly at the foul scent, but he had no choice. He needed the potion to stop the bad dreams. Downing a sip quickly, he blanched at the taste. It was as foul and bitter as the scent was. Bilbo laid down and closed his eyes, sleep finding him soon after.

When he woke up, he felt a bit disoriented, but instantly felt cheered when he realized he had not had a nightmare that night. Letting out a relieved sigh, he smiled, getting up and changing into his day clothes. He whistled a tuneless ditty as he descended the stairs, his spirits decidedly higher than they had been in days. Bilbo ignored the voice in his head that told him it wouldn't be this easy. That he needed to resolve his troubles, needed to actually acknowledge them rather than just ignore them as he had done his entire life. But today would not be that day. Today he would go around, blissfully ignoring anything that could be wrong, willfully forgetting them.

And as he went to bed that night, he could almost pretend that things would be okay.

* * *

Poor Bilbo. All conflicted and confused. All these changes in his life, with almost no time to adjust. Sometimes ignoring everything seems to be the best option, but I think we all know that while ignorance is bliss, it hardly ever lasts.

Also, I added Ori in here. Someone requested me to write him, and I hope I didn't mess him up too badly. :-)

One last thing. Due to the amount of work I have for school and with everything going on in my life right now, I need to know if people are still interested in this story. I need to know where to put this story on my priorities list. If a lot of people care about it, I will put more effort into writing and getting chapters out in a timely manner. But, if only a couple people care... I hate to be the type of person that goes "if you don't comment, I won't write!" but I need to know if I should even bother. I want to finish this story, I really do. I just need to know if people care. If anyone would actually look forward to a new chapter and would be put out if that new chapter took a month or three to appear. I need to know how much effort to put into writing. If people care, I'll make the effort to write. If people don't care, I'll focus my energy on other things. Either way is fine with me. I write at night, when I'm lying in bed plagued with insomnia, so it's not like writing takes time away from other activities. It's just the energy required and brain power it takes that I'm concerned about.

So TL:DR: I need you to comment if you like this story, otherwise updates might start becoming few and far between. I hope you all understand why I'm doing this, and that I'm not fishing for comments or anything. I just need to prioritize.

Thanks for reading. ^-^


	9. Poorly Executed Plans

Hey all. Posting a day early, since tomorrow I'm going to Disneyland and will be unable to post. ^-^

Hope y'all like this chapter. It's the longest one, excluding the next chapter. Oh! Just saying, a couple days ago I went back through the story and edited it a bit. I changed some words and deleted some commas (a lot of commas. I need to stop putting commas before every single and I come across. -.-) Anyway, nothing major got changed, but I thought I should mention it.

I wanted to take this time to thank everyone who commented last chapter. I really appreciate it. I'll try to keep writing, but I've been feeling... not well lately. Emotionally and physically. I'll write when I can, but updates might slow down in the near future. So sorry for that. Also, I noticed I got to over 100 kudos, so yay for that! ^-^

One last thing. Yesterday/earlier this morning I wrote a Bagginshield oneshot. It's about Bilbo dealing with Thorin, Fíli, and Kíli's deaths, ranging from Thorin's death up until Bilbo's 'death' after Lord of the Rings. It starts off sadly, obviously, but as the story goes on, it gets better. The end is happy, though. I would appreciate it if you would go and read it and tell me what you think. The story is titled "Meet Me at Twilight and in Darkness We'll Wander."

That's it. Enjoy. :-)

* * *

The problem with willfully forgetting his problems, Bilbo decided, was the fact that it went against everything in him. He had never been the type of person to ignore the truth for pretty lies. He preferred cold hard truths, no matter how terrible they might be. But this didn't mean that he couldn't try his hand at ignorance.

For a week Bilbo went on, valiantly trying to forget everything. Well, not really forget. That first day he realized that forgetting was nearly impossible, as the conversation he had overheard flooded through his mind, the fires of his nightmares filling his thoughts at random moments. He could still hear the whispers, accusing him harshly of things he didn't even understand. Since he couldn't forget, he instead ignored them. Anytime he thought of the problems the farm was facing, he switched his thoughts to something benign. Anytime fire invaded his vision he'd close his eyes and imagine something different. For a week, this worked. For a week, he could forget.

He should have known it was too good to last very long.

Bilbo had woken that morning feeling cheerful. It had been a week since he had had a single nightmare, and things on the farm were slowly going back to normal. He found himself talking to Ori more than he had before, the young man surprisingly interesting to talk to, if a bit shy. He had great knowledge on many things, though he loved literature and history the best.

The rest of the farm still felt like it was holding its breath though. It was a sort of tension in the air, growing as the days passed. Bilbo didn't know if he was the only one who noticed it, or if the others did too. Either way, it made him feel slightly uneasy. But as he was ignoring things that made him uneasy, he had pushed the feeling into the back of his mind.

Bilbo got out of bed and dressed himself, taking a good look in the mirror for the first time in a while, scrutinizing his appearance. He looked... Different, he thought. Different than how he had looked at Bag End, a spectator in his own life, there but not actively participating. He realized that for the past five years he had been drifting. After his parents had died, he had felt lost, and so utterly alone. Now though... Things were better now, despite the darkness that loomed over his head. He didn't regret coming to Erebor. He really, really didn't. He just wished, prayed that he could keep this.

Bilbo shook himself out of his down heartening thoughts. 'Don't think of it. Until you know more about what's going on, don't think about it at all. It's not your problem.' He scolded himself for what seemed like the hundredth time, scurrying out of the room and down the stairs.

At the table he saw Dori, Balin, and Ori, who had taken to eating his breakfast later than he usually did in order to talk with Bilbo. Bilbo appreciated the gesture and greeted the young man genially, sitting down. They spent the rest of breakfast conversing on the various books they had read, debating on which one was the best. The other two watched them with mild amusement as their conversation grew more impassioned, both Bilbo and Ori too involved to notice their chuckles.

When breakfast ended, Bilbo bid the three men farewell, leaving for the stables as he always did. He whistled carelessly as he walked, the spring breeze rustling his hair. So far they had not gotten any rain, but Bilbo could feel that a storm was coming, something that he actually looked forward to. He had always loved rain; as a child he would run around outside in the rain for hours, catching raindrops in his hands.

At the stables, Bilbo started his work. He started with the black stallion, who had become one of Bilbo's favorites here. The Draught horse was incredibly easy to work with and seemed to really like Bilbo. He always neighed to him in greeting, pushing his snout against Bilbo's face. Bilbo, in return, would give the horse an apple every day, patting his flank gently and talking to him. As Bilbo had learned from Fíli, the horse's name was Frerin. Interesting name for a horse, he thought.

Bilbo set about grooming Frerin, picking up his legs carefully and gently picking the rocks and dirt out of his shoes, being careful to make sure nothing was out of order. He then took his brush and brushed his coat carefully, getting the dirt and mud removed. Once finished with all the combing and brushing of Frerin's coat, Bilbo got started on his mane and tail, taking his wide toothed comb and untangling the knots and tangles gently, saying soothing words to the stallion. Once that was done with, Bilbo took a damp cloth and rubbed the stallion down, making sure any left-over dirt was cleared up.

Finished with Frerin's grooming, Bilbo brought him over to the outside field, letting him graze and wander about. Bilbo knew that he would have to groom the horse once again later because of this, but he didn't mind. Neither did any of the horses, really.

It was while he was grooming the last horse that he heard someone enter the stables. It was not unusual for Bilbo to get company during the day. Sometimes one of the men needed a horse to ride to town with, or they would simply stop by for a quick chat. So when Bilbo turned, he wasn't that surprised to see both Ori and Fíli standing there, wearing riding gear.

"Hello Mister Baggins." Ori greeted. "May we borrow two horses? Balin asked me to take Fíli here to Laketown, to get some supplies for the farm. We shouldn't be gone long." Ori gave Bilbo a small grin, which Bilbo returned. Fíli was off to the side, looking down at the ground with concentration. Bilbo briefly wondered what was wrong with the lad, but didn't ask. It wasn't his business.

Bilbo got the two the mildest mannered horses they had, two small mares named Aaliyah and Rayah. He fitted them with saddles and led them over to the two boys.

"Here. I hope these horses are satisfactory."

Ori took one of the horses while Fíli took the other. "Oh, yes. They're fine. Thank you, Mister Baggins." Ori commented, smiling. Bilbo nodded.

"Good. Well, farewell then."

The two boys left then, giving their own goodbyes, leaving Bilbo alone once again. He went back to the horses, making sure they were behaving themselves properly.

It was an hour before sundown when the two boys returned.

Fíli, Bilbo noticed, looked happier than when he had set out, grinning at him as he dismounted the mare.

"Evening, Mister Baggins." Ori called as he dismounted his own horse, lifting the duffel bag that was full of various things.

"Evening Ori. Did you find everything you were looking for?" Bilbo asked, taking the mares and leading them into their stables, giving them both a carrot.

"Oh, yes. We even got to spend some time with a couple of friends in Laketown." Ori grinned, his eyes bright and excited. Bilbo wondered if one of these friends was more than a friend.

"Yes, it _was_ good to see Bain again, wasn't it Ori?" Fíli added, smirking as he looked over at Ori, who blushed bright red. Ori shoved Fíli with his shoulder, giving him a fierce glare, which only caused the younger boy to laugh and dart over to Bilbo's side. Bilbo watched the going ons with mild amusement.

"Hello Mister Baggins." Fíli smirked, his eyes dancing with mirth.

"Hello Fíli." Bilbo replied, raising his eyebrows. "You seem to be in a better mood."

Fíli, in return, shrugged. "Got some... good news. Oh! But I was wondering if you'd be able to help me with something, though."

Fíli looked at Bilbo with wide eyes, trying to look as innocent as possible. Bilbo was instantly suspicious.

"Help with what?" Bilbo inquired slowly. Fíli merely grinned.

"You'll see. It's nothing bad, don't worry. You're almost done with work, yes? Sundown is in a few minutes or so, right? Then you can help me once you're off. Or maybe after dinner, if you'd prefer." Fíli commented quickly, his grin widening.

Bilbo was about to reply when Ori clicked his tongue in reproach.

"Fíli," Ori scolded, "leave Mister Baggins alone. Don't get him caught up in whatever plot you've got going on now."

Fíli gave a mock gasp and put a hand dramatically over his heart. "You wound me, Ori. I would never get Mister Baggins caught up in a plot. I simply need his help. That's all. Now, we should be getting inside. Your brother is probably wondering where you are and Balin will be wanting his supplies." With that, Fíli put his arm through Ori's and dragged him out of there. Just as they were about to exit, Fíli called cheerfully over his shoulder, "don't forget that I'll need your help later, Mister Baggins! See you!"

With that, Bilbo was left alone again, feeling confused and slightly amused. He wasn't sure if he would help the boy or not, but he might decide to at least check it out. Maybe.

~XoxoxoxoxoxoX~

After the conversation, Bilbo brought the remaining horses inside the stables, giving each of them a quick brush down. Once done, Bilbo closed the stable door and returned to the house, watching as the sun set over the mountain. He reached the house in no time and entered.

Dinner that night was the most enthusiastic it had been all week, everyone in a good mood for once. Glóin was there that night, and apparently had a wife and child, whom he was talking about proudly as Bilbo sat down.

"Almost as tall as my hip, he is. He's gonna be a tall one, I just know it." Glóin boasted, grinning widely.

"How old is your son?" Bilbo inquired genially, taking his share of the stew.

"Almost three. He lives with my wife, down in Dale. 'S why I don't tend to eat dinner here, you see, unless I'm running late like today. Why eat with this sorry bunch when I can have a /good/ home cooked meal each day?" Glóin grinned, laughing at the protests his words had earned.

"Glad of it. Your ugly mug puts us all off of dinner." Nori replied, causing more laughter as Glóin sputtered in mock offense.

The conversation followed in a similar manner for the rest of dinner, good natured ribbing and light conversation. Bilbo could feel himself relaxing in a way he hadn't been able to in days, finally feeling at home again. He was still an outsider, which was pronounced every time someone called him 'Mister Baggins' instead of Bilbo, but at least he had a place here.

When dinner ended, Bilbo got up to leave, and was almost by the stairs when he was stopped by a hand grasping his sleeve. Looking down, he saw the mischievous grin of Fíli, instantly remembering their conversation from earlier. He had forgotten about it in the rush of dinner.

Bilbo briefly considered telling the boy no, that he could do whatever he was plotting without Bilbo's help, thank you very much. But part of him, the Took part he would swear, pulled him to follow the boy instead of pull away. Later he would reason that it was because he had wanted to keep the boys out of too much trouble, and maybe even keep them safe if he could.

As it was, the boy dragged Bilbo silently through the house, avoiding the lingering men, then out the front door. Bilbo had slowed marginally as the door closed behind them, wondering once more if he should have just refused to help the boy. Before he could make a decision one way or the other, he heard a small rustling sound near the bushes, and out came Kíli, carrying two small lanterns. The child had a huge grin on his face, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Mister Bilbo! You came! Yay!" Kíli whispered loudly, enthusiasm sparkling in his eyes. Bilbo couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"Yes, I did." He sighed with light resignation. "Now I'd like to know what you two needed me for."

Kíli just smiled and shook his head as Fíli smirked.

"It's a surprise, Mister Baggins. You'll see soon."

With that the two young boys picked up a lantern with one hand, taking Bilbo's hand with their other, and dragged Bilbo along with them as they scurried away from the house, making sure to stay hidden in the shadows. Bilbo followed the best he could in the dim light, trying his hardest to keep his footsteps light. It had been ages since he had had to sneak around. It made him feel strangely excited for whatever it was they were doing, feeling like a tween again, about to go steal from Farmer Maggot's crops.

The trio stopped about half a mile from the farmhouse, far enough that all Bilbo could see of the farm was a haze of lights. They were in the middle of an empty field, outside Erebor's borders by about thirty yards. They had been able to pass the fence easily enough, since the boys had pried off a couple boards.

Bilbo looked around their surroundings and felt confused. There was nothing here; that much he could see even in the dark. He turned to Fíli and Kíli for explanation, only to find them crouching behind a small boulder. Fíli looked up at him and waved him to crouch down beside them.

"Get down, Mister Baggins! Hurry!" Fíli whispered, his face illuminated by the lantern, still grinning madly. Bilbo did as he was told, wincing only slightly as his joints protested the quick movement. He may feel like a tween again, but that didn't mean his body did.

"So. Will you two finally tell me what is going on?" Bilbo uttered softly, looking at Fíli through the corner of his eye. The boy was practically shaking with excitement.

"Okay. So, a couple weeks ago, when Uncle came home, he ran into a group of bandits." Bilbo's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't known that. It did explain the wound on Thorin's shoulder, though. Fíli saw Bilbo's reaction and was quick to reassure. "Don't worry though! He fought them off, disposing of them quickly." Bilbo didn't like the sound of that. He looked down at Fíli with a skeptical expression.

"What does this have to do with what we're doing?" Bilbo questioned, his eyebrow raised. Fíli gave him a look of irritation.

"I was getting to that. Anyway, when he disposed of the bandits, Uncle got hurt, and so he left really quickly. Because of that, he didn't bother to go looking for the bandit's camp, meaning it'd still be there! When I went to Laketown, Tilda told me how the bandits Uncle took out were rumored to have lots of stolen treasure! Kíli and me wanted to go and find it, like treasure hunters! But... We thought it might be too heavy, for the two of us to carry. Plus, you are light on your feet, I noticed that while you were working. You could go to their camp, quick as a wink, and tell us how much treasure they had had, and bring it back to us! Genius, right? What do you think?" Fíli whispered enthusiastically, looking up at Bilbo with huge pleading eyes.

Bilbo, however, scowled at the boy. The stupidity and danger of the boy's plan almost astounded him, especially the part he had in store for Bilbo. He was not a burglar, thank you very much, just a simple horse caretaker. He had no interest in taking from a bandit's camp, no matter how exciting it sounded.

"This is a ridiculous plan! And dangerous! What if there are other bandits out here, hmm? And how do you know their camp is anywhere near here? It's just not safe. We're going back, and that's final."

The two children began to protest, pouting at Bilbo pleadingly, and on Fíli's part, angrily.

"Come on, Mister Baggins! We're already here, we can't go back now! And it's not that dangerous. I checked, there are no bandits anywhere near here. Most bandits don't come down this far anyway, only the really stupid or reckless ones. And besides, do you really think I'd take Kíli out here if I thought it was dangerous?" Fíli hissed, leveling a glare at Bilbo, ignoring Kíli's faint 'hey!' of indignation.

Bilbo looked at the boy and saw his seriousness. He truly believed they were in no danger. 'That doesn't mean we're not in danger though.' He reminded himself. A couple moments passed in silence as Bilbo thought it over. Finally, noticing the stubborn and defiant look in Fíli's eyes that said he'd look for the bandit camp no matter what Bilbo said, Bilbo gave in with a tired sigh.

"Alright. Fine. I'll help you. But the second anything goes wrong, I want you two to run straight for the house, alright?"

The two boys nodded furiously, their excitement mounting once more.

"Brilliant! Okay, see that tree over there? The crooked one, near the huge rock?" Bilbo looked and saw the tree in question. "From what I can tell, the Bandit's Camp is over there. All you have to do us sneak over, take a look around, get anything that looks like it could be valuable, and come back. If there's a lot of treasure, call me and Ki over. Okay?"

Bilbo was tempted to say 'No! Not okay!' but resisted. He didn't like this plan at all, thinking it was very reckless. And part of him wondered at the logic of a grown man taking orders from a child, but he was long past caring about that at this point. With a sigh, Bilbo nodded curtly.

"Great! Now, get going. We need to be back inside two hours before midnight, or Balin will be very mad at us. Good luck!"

With that, the two boys stared at Bilbo expectantly. Giving yet another sigh, Bilbo set off across the empty plain, his heart starting to race with adrenaline. 'Oh this is so stupid. Why did I agree to this? Bilbo Baggins, you are a fool!' He scolded himself, feeling very dumb. He also felt like he had been tricked by the two boys. It was obvious now why they had refused to tell him their plan earlier.

The time it took him to cross the plain seemed to pass in a blur as his worry mounted. One moment he had been beside Fíli, regretting his decision to come, and the next he was next to the tree. Bilbo blinked in surprise, before coming back to his senses. He was here, he might as well do as the boys asked him to, so that they could get out of here. Now that he was away from the boys and their lanterns, the darkness seemed to come from everywhere, terrifying Bilbo.

Quickly, Bilbo searched the area next to the tree, finding nothing. He crept quietly over the boulder, thinking maybe the camp would be there, if it was ever here at all.

To his luck, or perhaps against it, the camp was indeed there, lying hidden almost inside the boulder. Bilbo hurriedly searched for whatever treasure he could find.

The camp was small, he noticed as he searched. There were three sleeping mats, all of which smelled rank. Bilbo steered clear of those. The rest of the camp consisted of scattered duffel bags and food stuff. He looked carefully through the duffel bags, gagging at the putrid scent wafting from them. In one of them he found some jewels and gold, in the other he found some silver dining ware. The last bag, however, contained weapons. Beautiful weapons, if Bilbo had to be the judge. Two of them were very long, and very sharp. He didn't think he could lift them if he tried. The last weapon, however, was much smaller. It might have been a knife, but just a bit longer. Bilbo carefully picked it up, admiring its beauty.

He was about to move on and begin collecting whatever jewels he could carry, when a loud bellow sounded from the direction of the farmhouse. Startled, Bilbo shot straight up, turning wide eyed to face the house. He noticed that there were more lights on than there had been before, including the porch light. Bilbo felt his heart plummet. Had they been found out? Was he going to get in trouble? Oh dear.

As quick as he dared, Bilbo scurried across the plain back to where he had left the two boys, both of whom were now pale faced, absently placing the small sword in his belt loop.

"What do we do? Are we going to get in trouble?" Kíli asked, his eyes wide and liquidy. Fíli put his arm around his brother, giving him a confident, though clearly fake, grin.

"Don't worry Ki, it'll be alright. We'll just go back and tell them we were looking around for fireflies. It'll be fine." Despite his words, Fíli himself looked kind of panicked, his eyes wide and darting. Bilbo wished he could help, but he didn't know what to say, his heart in his throat. Though as he watched the two young boys, he knew he was going to have to take charge.

"Alright. Let's all calm down, okay? Let's just go back inside and deal with whatever happens. I'm sure it'll be fine." Bilbo murmured as soothingly as he could. The two boys just nodded and got up slowly.

The trio began their trek back to the house in low spirits, the enthusiasm of earlier gone. They could hear more yelling the closer they got to the house, many voices calling out for Fíli and Kíli, which made all three want to turn and run. But they continued on, dread filling them. Poor Kíli was crying, clinging to Fíli's hand like a lifeline. Fíli had a blank look on his face, like he was resigned to his fate. Bilbo just hoped that he wouldn't be fired for this.

Minutes later the trio finally made their way into the house, where they saw Balin frantically pacing the living room floor. Turning to face them as soon as they entered the room, Balin let out a relieved sigh, his face relaxing marginally. He rushed over to the two boys, pulling them into a huge hug.

"Oh, thank the maker you two are alright. Where were you?! You had the whole house frantic!" Balin demanded, pulling away from the hug at last to glare at the two boys, who looked at him shamefaced.

"We're sorry, Balin! We just wanted to go exploring and look for treasure! We didn't mean to scare anyone, honest!" Kíli blurted, tears falling quickly down his cheeks, forgetting their cover story in the face of Balin's disapproval. Balin gave the boys a hard glare.

"You know that you're not supposed to be exploring outside the farm, especially at night." Balin scolded, hitting the boys lightly upside the head. Both looked down, thoroughly ashamed. It was only then that Balin seemed to notice Bilbo.

"Mister Baggins! What are you doing here? Did we wake you with the noise again?"

Bilbo was floored. He had expected to get yelled at as well. Because of this, he stammered out, "N-no. I mean, I... The boys... And I..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say at all. Luckily, Fíli pitched in.

"Mister Baggins found us. He noticed us leaving the farm and followed after us, trying to get us to go back, but we didn't listen." Fíli lied, before turning to Bilbo. "We're sorry we didn't listen to you, Mister Baggins. You were right, we shouldn't have gone out." Bilbo was speechless once more. He didn't understand what was going on at all.

Balin, however, accepted Fíli's lie and smiled gratefully at Bilbo. "Thank you, laddie. Though next time, get either me or one of the other older farm hands to help. We know how to deal with these two troublemakers."

Bilbo managed to squeak out something that sounded like "noted!" before Balin turned back to the boys.

"Now, about your punishment..." Balin started, only to be stopped by Fíli looking up with wide eyes.

"You aren't going to tell our uncle, are you?" Fíli squeaked, looking petrified. Balin was unable to answer, however, as a voice called out from the doorway.

"How about you tell him yourself." The voice growled, dark and angry. All four of them spun around and stared at the doorway, Balin looking wary.

Standing there, looking disheveled and furious, was Thorin. His hands were clenched in fists by his side, his hair tangled and tied in knots. He was glaring fiercely at the boys, ignoring everything else in the room. The boys in question were frozen to their spots, terror filling their eyes.

"What, on earth, did you two think you were doing?" Thorin hissed, taking a step closer. The two boys began shaking.

"W-we just wanted to explore. W-we're sorry." Fíli whispered. Thorin rounded on him, glowering darkly.

"At night?! You know how dangerous it is out there! What were you thinking?! Or were you thinking at all?! If your mother was here, she would be so ashamed of the two of you! I have half a mind to throttle you both!" Thorin thundered, shaking from the emotion. Kíli, who had up until that point been frozen in fear, suddenly burst into tears again at Thorin's harsh words, burying his face in his brother's torso, sobs shaking his small frame. Thorin watched, his breathing heavy. Bilbo could see though that some of his anger was leaving, which made him beyond relieved. He had been watching in horror as Thorin screamed at the boys, feeling sick in the stomach.

"You two could have been hurt. Or worse, killed. Did you even think of that? Did you even consider what would happen? These are dangerous times, and you cannot, _cannot_, wander around, by yourselves, especially at night. Do you hear me? Because if anything happened to you two..." Thorin trailed off, all the fight going out of him as he stared blankly at the boys. "If anything happened to you two, it would destroy me." Thorin finished, his voice toneless and dull. Fíli stared back at Thorin, his eyes dull and watery, clinging his brother to his side.

Thorin just watched the boys, his breathing heavy. He lifted his hand absently to brush his hair away from his face, faltering immediately when he noticed Fíli wince, looking down at the ground quickly a moment later. It was then that Thorin seemed to realize who he had just yelled at, and Bilbo could see the horror fill his face as he saw the state his nephew were now in, Kíli sobbing his heart out into Fíli's shirt as Fíli glared at the floor.

A moment passed before Thorin took a teetering step forward, hesitating slightly, walking over to where the boys were huddled. Bilbo watched off to the side as Thorin stood in front of the two for a long minute, before sinking slowly to his knees, so he was eye level with them. Thorin hesitantly reached his hand out towards Fíli, only to snap it back to his side when Fíli winced slightly again, looking back up at Thorin with emotionless eyes. Thorin's expression looked stricken. The two stared at each other for a while, Kíli still sobbing softly into Fíli's shirt.

"I'm sorry." Thorin breathed, his face open and soft, staring Fíli right in the eye. "I didn't mean to yell at you, and I am so sorry. You two scared me, today. When I arrived home and was told you two were nowhere to be found... I didn't even know what to think. So many things ran through my mind... But I should not have yelled at you like I did, and for that I am _sorry_." Thorin apologized softly, pleading for the boys to understand. Bilbo wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he did know that this was incredibly personal, and felt a ridiculous surge of humor go through him. Of course he was here to witness this incredibly personal and private moment. That was just his luck.

Fíli broke eye contact with Thorin, shying away from him, clutching his brother firmly to his side, like a lifeline. He said nothing, but in truth he didn't have to. His action told enough, and by the heartbroken look in Thorin's eye, he could see that.

"I'm sorry." Thorin whispered again, falling back on his haunches in defeat. Another moment passed, before Kíli squirmed away from his brother's side and threw himself at Thorin, clinging to his neck as he sobbed some more, hiccupping apologies through ragged breaths. Thorin, in response, closed his eyes and held Kíli close to him, enveloping the child completely, his hand tangled in Kíli's hair. Thorin muttered reassuring words to the child, while also murmuring his own apologies, pleading for the boy to forgive him. The other three just watched as the uncle and nephew clung to each other, none knowing what to do.

Eventually, Fíli moved with hesitant steps over to Thorin and his brother, sinking slowly to his knees as well. Thorin just unwrapped an arm that had been around Kíli, holding it open in invitation. With only the slightest hesitation, Fíli darted forward as well, flinging his arms around his uncle and little brother. Thorin enveloped the two into his arms again, all three clinging tightly to one another. They stayed like that for a while.

Bilbo, who was watching this all happen, knew that this was the time to leave. So with a quick look over towards Balin, who was watching the whole thing with soft, misty eyes, Bilbo left the room quickly and quietly, darting up the stairs. He could hear some of the other men outside, shouting for the two boys, not realizing that they were safe in their uncle's arms downstairs.

Bilbo, himself, felt a little numb; a feeling that was starting to become common, he realized. His heart was beating quickly and he felt almost like he wanted to cry, yet he didn't understand why. Watching that scene downstairs had messed with him, shaking up everything that he hadn't wanted to be shaken.

As he dressed and got into bed, he didn't know what to think, and so thought of nothing. But as soon as his head hit the pillow, he knew something, something that resounded in his head, clear as a bell.

It was his problem. Everything that was happening on this farm, was his problem. This was his family now, he could see that clear as day. Anything that affected them, affected him. He didn't know when this had happened, but he knew it had. He cared about the inhabitants of this farm, Kíli and Fíli especially. Even Thorin, Bilbo realized. This farm was dear to him, so very dear. And watching Fíli, Kíli, and Thorin had made him realize that, made him stop denying what he knew in his heart to be true.

So those problems that Bilbo had been ignoring, because they "weren't his problem?" He could no longer ignore them. Not now. Not anymore. Maybe he couldn't do anything about them. Maybe Thorin would hate him for interfering. But Bilbo didn't care. This was his home. This was his _family_. And no matter what, he would do everything in his power to keep them safe. Or at the very least he would go down with them. If it was to end in fire, well, they would all burn together, he guessed.

And as he drifted off to sleep, his potion laying forgotten on the nightstand, he dreamed of the farm and his newfound family. And not a single nightmare was to be found.

So that was the chapter. I'm unable to bring Thorin back without some kind of big drama thing, it seems.

I wanted to say one thing about the screaming that Thorin did towards the children. I want to make one thing clear, right now before anyone gets any wrong ideas. Thorin is not abusive. In my mind, this was the first time that Thorin has ever screamed at the boys. Yes, he's probably gotten angry at them before and shouted a bit before sending them to their rooms or something. This, however, was the only time he was furious. And the reason why he was furious was because he was utterly terrified. I'm not sure if I managed to get this across well, but Thorin was so concerned when he realized that his nephews were gone. With everything going on, with Smaug and Azog and other things I've not introduced yet, seeing his nephews gone had terrified him. He screamed because he had no idea how else to get his nephews to understand how dangerous it was. He had no idea how to express his fear other than to scream. Fíli winced away from him, not out of fear of what Thorin would do to him, but because of his fear of seeing his normally loving uncle so undone and afraid. For a child, that is terrifying. Especially when that child looks up to their father figure as much as Fíli looks up to Thorin.

Sorry for all the text, but I wanted to be certain that no one took this the wrong way, since while rereading, I realized it could be taken the wrong way. Thorin loves his nephews dearly. He would never hurt them, emotionally or physically. He may not know how to be a father, but he is trying his best to raise two young boys. So. Yeah.

Please leave a comment on what you think. :-) And be sure to check out my one shot, if you want.


	10. Stormy Weather

Another week, another chapter. Hey all.

Updates might be slowing from here on out. I know I've been saying that for the past few weeks, but as of now, I'm out of finished chapters. I'm currently working on the eleventh chapter, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish it by next week. I've not been feeling well lately and I'm just so tired all the time. Because of that, I've not had the brain power to write much. I'll try, but I might need to take a week or two off, just to recharge or whatever.

Thanks to everyone who commented or left kudos (Or anyone who reviewed and left a favorite, if you're reading this on Fanfiction. net) They mean a lot to me and are what keep me going. :-)

I don't really have much to say about this chapter, so... Enjoy.

* * *

Upon waking the next morning, Bilbo felt happier than he had in days. Yes, he still felt tired and the added stress of the other night did not help at all. But overall, it felt like a dark cloud had dissipated from over his head. Like a weight had been lifted from his chest. Bilbo felt like he could do anything if he put his mind to it.

It was when he got up to get dressed that he noticed the sword that was still latched in the belt loop of the pants he had worn the night before. Carefully as he could, he removed the sword and examined it.

Bilbo had never held a sword before. Had never even seen one, if he was being honest. Not in person at least. The sword he was holding was short, not even as long as his arm. The scabbard it was in was a plain silver, with only a couple swirls as decoration. He took the sword out of the scabbard and saw that the sword itself was similar, though it had more of a beauty to it. The way the light reflected on the silver, the way it seemed to glow in the pale dawn. The edges were slightly dull and it looked like it had never even seen battle. But Bilbo found himself enamored to the little sword. A small weapon, having never seen battle but still having the ability to do great damage if given the chance.

Bilbo took the sword and sheathed it again, deciding to put it inside the top drawer of his dresser, where he kept his most prized possessions, hidden beneath his shirts. He would keep it in there unless he ever needed it. To let anyone see it would raise suspicion as to where he had gotten it and he did not want anyone to suspect that he had been a part of Fíli's harebrained plan. It would just lead to more trouble for the both of them.

He opened his drawer and set the blade carefully inside, right beside his mother's locket, his father's old pipe, and a drawing of the two of them from their wedding. These were the only things he had managed to keep from the men who had come to take his possessions away, and they were the most precious to him. If anything were to happen to them, Bilbo didn't know what he would do. The blade would be a good addition to the small collection, Bilbo thought.

With that done, Bilbo finished dressing and slipped downstairs, his good mood still in place.

Entering the dining room, Bilbo had a moment of shock when he came face to face with an unexpected person.

"Gandalf!" Bilbo exclaimed as he nearly ran into the Grey Wizard. Gandalf smiled down at Bilbo, his ancient eyes shining. Bilbo could barely believe his eyes.

"Bilbo Baggins! How good it is to see you again, my friend." The Wizard told, hugging Bilbo gently. Bilbo hugged back, grateful to see the Wizard, even if he was still a bit peeved at him. Leaving the way he did after giving Bilbo news that would soon change his life was very rude, in Bilbo's opinion. But for now he wouldn't bring it up, too happy to bother.

"And you! What are you doing here?" Bilbo inquired, looking up at Gandalf.

"I brought him here. His assistance is needed." A tired voice rumbled from the table. Bilbo looked over and was surprised to see Thorin sitting there, slumped over his morning coffee, looking exhausted. His hair was still as tangled and uncombed as it had been the night before, his clothes rumpled and worn. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin waxy. Overall, he did not look like he had a very pleasant week. Privately, Bilbo wondered if this was only because of what happened last night or if it was more than that; if it had to do with the conversation he had listened in to a week beforehand and the business that Thorin had gone rushing off to see to.

"Need him for what?" Bilbo asked belatedly, after a couple moments had passed in silence while he'd been examining his employer.

Thorin just sighed heavily and continued staring into his coffee. Gandalf looked even less inclined to answer, instead watching Thorin closely, like he was a particularly interesting specimen he was examining. A minute passed in silence before Thorin spoke.

"For a problem I've been having with the farm. You needn't be bothered with it, Mister Baggins. It does not involve you." Thorin intoned, not bothering to look up, which angered Bilbo just a little. Still, he reined it in and only let out a small scoff as he finally moved to take his seat. He only briefly noticed the absence of Balin and Dori, but pushed it out of his mind quickly.

"'Doesn't involve me?' I work here, do I not? I think I deserve to know if something is going wrong." Bilbo rejoined smartly, sending a pointed look at Thorin's bowed head. In all honesty, he still wasn't sure if he should be getting involved here, but he was determined to at least try.

Thorin looked up at Bilbo's comment, allowing him to see the dark circles that resided under Thorin's eyes. His employer stared at him for a second before shaking his head slowly.

"These matters are my own, Mister Baggins. You would do best to keep out."

Bilbo was about to make a comment on how he felt he had a right to know, when Gandalf interrupted him.

"It might be better, Thorin, if you told him. He may even be able to help you." Gandalf looked over at Bilbo and smiled. "There is a lot more to him than meets the eye, and I believe he could be a great help to you, if you let him."

Thorin shook his head again, scowling lightly now.

"No. I agreed to let him work here as a horse caretaker, against my better judgement, but I will not involve him in these matters. I care not if he could be a great help." Thorin rumbled deeply, turning back to stare at his coffee once more, clearly done with the conversation. Bilbo frowned at his employer's head, not pleased with the dismissal.

Gandalf looked at Thorin with a frown, before shaking his head and letting out a tired sigh.

"I don't know why I even bother with you. You are as stubborn as a mule." Gandalf commented, causing Thorin to look up and glare at the Wizard.

"I don't know why either. You are the one who got himself involved, if I am not mistaken. Leave, if you do not want to bother with me. I can make do without you, Wizard." Thorin growled, his face twisted in mild anger. Bilbo had the feeling this wasn't the first fight he had had with the Wizard, nor would it be the last.

Gandalf raised his eyebrows. "Well, no need to get over dramatic. You know as well as I that you do need my help, otherwise I would not be here. Now I will not dictate who you share your secrets with, but I will give my mind as to who I believe worthy of hearing them. Bilbo Baggins has more to him than appearances suggest, and he's got a great deal more to offer than even he knows. Now that I've said my piece, I will take my leave, if it is alright with you. I have much to do before night falls if this plan of yours is going to work." Finished with speaking, Gandalf turned on his heel and left the room, his robe swirling after him.

Bilbo wished Gandalf hadn't left. The silence in the dining room following the Wizard's departure was thick and filled with tension, leaving Bilbo feeling awkward and ill at ease. Thorin was hunched over his coffee once more, a dark scowl marring his prematurely wrinkled face. From what Bilbo had been told, Thorin was only 35, three years his elder, and yet he looked ages older. His hair had streaks of silver in it and his face was wrinkled due to worry and stress. In this moment, Thorin looked ancient, like a statue from the olden days that had been worn down over time, but still holding a delicate beauty. Bilbo would be lying if he said it wasn't captivating.

After a minute had passed Bilbo decided to just go about like normal and took a scone from the centre of the table, hesitating only slightly when Thorin raised his eyes and followed the movement. A moment later Thorin's eyes were downward again, almost like he had never moved in the first place.

Bilbo ate the scone slowly, trying to figure out what to say to his employer. He realized with a slight shock that he hadn't been alone in a room with him since that second meeting, which had ended with Bilbo swearing he'd always hate this man. Now, though, all he felt towards the man was a mild curiosity.

The man in front of him was an enigma. Bilbo couldn't for the life of him puzzle Thorin out and it left him confused and curious. Thorin was harsh and serious, and yet Bilbo had seen him the other night, putting aside his pride to speak softly to his nephews. Thorin always seemed aloof and distant, yet it was clear he cared deeply about his farm and its inhabitants. Bilbo wanted to figure the man out, to understand him. Maybe if Bilbo understood him, he would be able to find a way to get Thorin to trust him enough to allow him to help with whatever problems the farm was facing. But in order to do this, he needed first to speak.

Before Bilbo could figure out what to say, however, Thorin stood up and began to leave, not even sparing Bilbo a glance. Surprised at the abrupt departure, Bilbo barely had time to think before crying, "Wait!"

Thorin stopped right before he opened the door to the kitchen, his arm still extended towards the doorknob. He stayed like that for a second before slowly turning around to face Bilbo, his eyebrows raised slightly.

"Did you need something, Mister Baggins?" Thorin questioned, his eyes boring into Bilbo, causing him to swallow thickly. 'This is going well,' Bilbo thought wryly, before clearing his throat, yet he still had no idea what to say. The silence stretched on for a long minute, before Thorin sighed.

"Was there a reason you called me to wait, or are you simply wasting my time?" Thorin inquired, looking at Bilbo with slight exasperation.

"The children." Bilbo breathed at last, abruptly remembering the scene he had seen the previous night. "How are they? I hope they weren't punished too harshly?" Bilbo wasn't even sure if they were punished at all, not any more than they had been, but he felt he should at least ask. Especially since he really had no idea what else to say and didn't want to look like an even bigger idiot in front of his employer. He mentally kicked himself for having stopped the man in the first place.

To Bilbo's surprise, Thorin immediately softened, the annoyed look changing to one of mild endearment and slight concern. A second later he returned to the indifferent mask, but his eyes remained softer. Bilbo absently thought it suited him better than the dark anger and pain they normally held.

"The children are fine, Mister Baggins." Thorin began, looking over to Bilbo with a small self-deprecating smile forming on his face. "You were there last night, if I'm not mistaken. I apologize that you had to see that. I was... Concerned for them. These are dangerous times and when I saw that they were not in their beds like they should have been... Well, let us just say I was very concerned. And as for their punishment, they will be helping out around the farm for the next month, to be kept under the watchful eye of the older farmhands. Their free time will be greatly restricted, as I will be keeping watch over them whenever they are not working. Nothing overly harsh, I would say." He finished, a mildly sardonic expression on his face. Bilbo couldn't help but stare, wondering at the change in mood the man had just gone through. It was fascinating, really. The children really affected him, it seemed.

Bilbo nodded after a moment, though he started to feel slightly nervous for a reason he did not know. His stomach churned and he had to look away from Thorin for a moment. He suddenly wanted this conversation to end, to be away from this man. Thorin made him feel nervous and fumbling, like a child seeking approval from an adult, with just a few words. He didn't like this feeling.

"A very appropriate punishment." Bilbo agreed a minute later, when it became clear Thorin was awaiting a verbal reply. Thorin nodded in satisfaction.

"You care for my nephews." Thorin observed abruptly, staring at Bilbo with an unreadable expression on his face, dashing Bilbo's hope of ending the conversation. "And they care for you, considering they were willing to lie for you."

Thorin said it so casually that it took Bilbo a second to realize what he was talking about. When it finally clicked, Bilbo's eyes widened in shock and mild fear. How had he'd known the boys had lied about his involvement the previous night? Was he about to get in trouble?

"W-what? I-I don't know what you're talking about." Bilbo stammered, trying to figure out what exactly he could say to defend himself. He watched with confusion as Thorin smirked minutely.

"Do you really think I can't tell when my nephews lie? Who do you think taught them how to? Do not worry, though, you are not in trouble. Not this time, at least. My nephews can be very persuasive and I do not blame you for going along with whatever plan they had. All I say is that in the future, if either of them tries to get you involved in their schemes, tell one of the other farm hands. Do you understand?"

"Oh, of course. I promise." Bilbo swore hurriedly, nodding emphatically, causing Thorin's smirk to widen slightly. Bilbo didn't really care. This was the, what, third time he'd done something he wasn't supposed to? In the span of just as many weeks? And yet he _still_ hadn't been fired? He had a good reason to be relieved.

"Good. I'd hate to have to fire you, Mister Baggins. Searching for a new horse caretaker would be tiring and I'm sure my nephews would give me hell if I did. Do not think that I won't though, if you give me a reason. Good day, Mister Baggins." Thorin tilted his head briefly to Bilbo in goodbye, before exiting the room at last.

Bilbo let out a breath as he did, relieved to be out of that conversation, though he tried to ignore the implications of Thorin's second to last words. While he may be alright at conversing to the other farm hands, Thorin was a different matter. He was so serious at times and then almost friendly or joking at others. It confused Bilbo. Thorin confused Bilbo.

Bilbo shook his head to clear it. Thinking about his employer did nothing. All he could do now was work and hope things would turn out okay. Eventually, maybe he would be able to get Thorin to share his secrets, but it was clear to Bilbo that it wouldn't be anytime soon. That didn't mean Bilbo would give up, oh no. That just meant that he would have to be patient. And patience is a skill Bilbo had been known to have. On occasion.

~XoxoxoxoxoxoX~

The rest of the day passed without incident, as did the one after. Everything had settled down, it seemed. The other men seemed livelier now that Thorin was back, and even the children seemed glad, when they weren't busy sulking about their 'unfair' punishment.

When Bilbo woke that third day, he woke with a smile on his face. Not a big one, just a tiny, content smile. He didn't remember his dream, but it left him feeling at ease and, dare he say it, happy. By now, he knew better than to get too comfortable with this feeling, but for the moment he would savor it. He thought he deserved it.

He got out of bed and dressed quickly, taking a look out the window as he passed it. He could make out the sun rising over the plains, thick clouds obscuring it from view occasionally. Bilbo wondered if it was a storm. He privately wished it was.

Exiting his room, Bilbo made his way downstairs, greeting Gandalf and Balin as he took his usual seat in the dining room. Gandalf bid him a cheerful 'hello' before returning to whatever tome it was he was examining today. Balin gave him a friendly smile, asking him how his night had been, drawing Bilbo into a light conversation.

Halfway through breakfast Gandalf stood up, a frown on his face, leaving before either Balin or Bilbo could ask what the matter was. Bilbo turned to Balin in concern.

"Do you think something is wrong?" Bilbo worried, frowning lightly. Balin gave a small, reassuring smile in return.

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, laddie. You know how Gandalf is, probably wanted to double check a fact or something. Nothing important."

Bilbo could tell that Balin wasn't being completely truthful, but decided to leave it be for now.

When breakfast ended, Bilbo walked over to the stables, watching the storm clouds grow bigger in the distance. They looked dark, so Bilbo was thinking they were going to be getting some thunder and lightning later. Personally, he was thrilled, but he felt a tinge of concern for the farm. He hoped the crops didn't get struck by lightning.

He entered the stables and began his work, diligently attending to the horses. After about an hour he heard the stable doors open and heard Bofur give his usual cheerful greeting.

"Morning, Bilbo. Sleep well?" Bofur asked genially as he carried the new bags of oats in over his shoulder. Putting the bags down in the corner of the room, he walked over to the closet that contained the cleaning tools. Bilbo smiled at the man as he went about his work.

"Yes, very well, thank you. And you?"

"Oh yes, had a _very_ good dream last night, if you get what I mean." Bofur chuckled, winking exaggeratedly at Bilbo, who just tutted and ignored the innuendo. He had learned quickly that blushing and stammering at Bofur's vulgarity just egged him on.

The two chatted for a little while as they both worked, Bilbo leading the horses around outside a bit, since he wasn't sure if they'd get the chance later if it did indeed rain.

"Looks like rain's coming." Bilbo observed as he ushered the horses outside. Bofur looked out toward the storm clouds with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Suppose it does. That'll be good, we've not seen rain in ages. Dori'll be happy, as long as the lightning doesn't strike any of his crops. Animals will be less happy. Might want to stay here with your horses tonight, if the storm does hit. They've never liked thunder. Lady Dís used to spend hours trying to keep them calm." Bofur informed. Bilbo just nodded. His old horses had never liked storms either, so it wouldn't surprise him if he did have to spend the night out here. He didn't mind all that much, though. He used to sleep in his old stables all the time, losing track of time and spending the night reading to the horses.

Bofur finished his cleaning a little while later, bidding him a cheerful goodbye which Bilbo returned. Bilbo then returned to his work.

It was two hours before sunset that the storm finally reached the farm. It started off with a light drizzle, during which Bilbo brought the horses that were lazily grazing in the fenced field inside, securing them carefully inside their stalls. Bilbo knew that bringing the horses in could be dangerous, if the stables were struck by lightning or if the horses got spooked and injured themselves, but he preferred having them all inside where he could keep an eye on them.

Right before the worst of the storm hit, Bilbo went inside to get some food, just in case the storm got so bad that he wasn't able to get back inside later. As he walked back he had to smile as the rain ran down his face. He could vividly remember that when he was a child, his mother would dance with him outside whenever it rained, her face alive with laughter and joy. It was how he liked to remember her, smiling and joyful, not despondent like she had been those last few months after his father had died.

The rain picked up a few minutes after Bilbo reentered the stables, the first crack of lightning visible through the windows. He could see the more skittish horses skittering around their stalls and moved over to them, resigned to spending the next several hours calming the horses and making sure they don't injure themselves.

The hours dragged on as the storm reached its peak. The thunder was loud and booming, scaring even Bilbo sometimes with its intensity. The horses were beyond terrified, whinnying loudly every time the thunder sounded. Luckily, none of them bucked or reared, mostly just stomping their hooves against the floor. Bilbo did his best to keep them all distracted from the storm, anywhere from reading aloud from the books he kept hidden in the stables to singing cheery songs his mother sang to him as a boy. He liked to think it helped somewhat, as the horses calmed minutely whenever he did this.

Bilbo didn't even know how long it was before the stable door banged opened, scaring Bilbo out of his wits. Standing in the doorway, hair plastered to his face and dripping wet, was Thorin. Bilbo could see that it was pitch black outside, leading him to believe that the sun had gone down at some point. He hadn't even realized.

Thorin stood in the doorway for a second before closing the door carefully, the howling wind quieting somewhat. Another flash of lightning could be seen, the thunder following a few seconds later.

"How are the horses?" He could barely hear Thorin ask, as the man walked over to him.

"They're fine, just a little spooked." Bilbo replied as loudly as he could, hoping he could be heard over the wind. Seeing how Thorin then nodded, he assumed he had been heard.

"Have any of them given you any trouble?" Thorin questioned when he finally reached Bilbo's side, the water dripping down his face and into a steadily growing puddle by his feet. Bilbo could feel his nerves from the other day returning, but pushed them back down. He knew horses. He could talk about the horses for hours if he felt like it. There was no reason to feel nervous as long as he could talk about the horses.

"No, not yet. Mindy, Seth and Fen have been jolting around a bit, and Rayah won't stop pacing her stall. The others mostly are behaving, though none of them are particularly happy." Bilbo explained, somewhat grimly. He hated seeing the horses like this.

Just then a flash of lightning could be seen, the crack of thunder following soon after. The horses took that moment to whinny loudly, Mindy lifting off a bit, looking about ready to buck. Concerned, Bilbo left Thorin, not caring if it was rude. He set about calming the mare so she didn't hurt herself, speaking to her softly and soothingly. He forgot, for the moment, that he wasn't alone and even began to sing softly to sooth the mare. It took him several minutes, during which more thunder sounded, destroying a lot of his progress, but he finally managed to calm her down enough that she simply stomped her feet instead of bucking. Bilbo let out a small sigh of relief.

Turning back around, Bilbo suddenly remember Thorin, who was standing off to the side of the stable, watching him. Bilbo swallowed thickly, wondering if he had done something wrong.

"Do you always sing to the horses?" Thorin inquired once Bilbo had returned to his side, his face unreadable. Bilbo hesitantly nodded his head.

"Not always, but sometimes, whenever it is too quiet, or they are feeling restless. Why, is it against the rules or something?" Bilbo didn't see why it would be, but he thought he might as well ask. Anything was possible, after all. Thorin, however, shook his head, little droplets of water escaping as he did so.

"No. I just found it curious." Thorin paused. "You have a good singing voice."

Bilbo could feel a blush rising into his cheeks, though he vainly tried to will it away. He hadn't expected that compliment. Before he could stammer out his gratitude, however, Thorin frowned and turned away, staring at the horses, his eyes distant and unreadable. Confused, but not wanting to disturb the other man's thoughts, Bilbo looked around the stables, trying to turn his attention elsewhere. Even though he didn't understand what brought it on, he could tell that Thorin was thinking about something personal and wished not to interrupt.

Bilbo noticed absently that the wind was beginning to howl louder, the rain now thundering against the roof, almost drowning out the actual thunder. He could tell they were now in the thick of the storm. His eyes flickered to the windows above the stalls, watching the lightning flash against the dark sky. The silence between the men stretched on.

"My sister used to sing to the horses. Said it helped to calm them. I could see how. She had a lovely voice." Bilbo turned to face Thorin in surprise, not expecting the man to say something, much less that. Thorin was still facing the horses, a reminiscent look softening his face. It made him look years younger, Bilbo noticed. Bilbo scarcely wanted to breath, afraid to break whatever spell the other man was in.

Bilbo waited, patiently, for the other man to say something else. But nothing else came, just the sound of thunder and the whinnies of the horses. A minute later, after a particularly loud bout of thunder, Thorin shook himself out of his reverie and turned back to face Bilbo, his face closed off and distant once more.

"Will you be able to handle the horses for the night, Mister Baggins, or do you wish to go back inside? I will pay you extra for tonight if you stay, but the choice is yours. I can handle them if you decide against it." Thorin rumbled, looking down at Bilbo. Bilbo nodded mutely.

"I can handle them, Master Thorin." Bilbo said after a moment had passed. "I've handled horses during storms many times before. This is nothing new."

"Very good." Thorin nodded, turning to face the horses once more. "You have my thanks. You may take tomorrow off, with pay, if you wish to rest." Thorin moved, walking towards the entrance of the stables, his gait steady and sure. Bilbo followed the movement with his eyes, marveling at the grace Thorin exuded with such ease. Like a king, Bilbo thought absently. Sure-footed and confident.

Bilbo watched as Thorin opened the stable doors, the rain coming down hard and fast. Thorin hesitated for a second before squaring his shoulders and exiting out into the rain, closing the doors firmly behind him. Bilbo stared at the doors for a little while after, until another crack of thunder sounded, causing him to start and remember his duties.

Thorin was strange. That much Bilbo knew. But he wasn't terrible, not like he had first thought. Bilbo didn't know how he felt about the man anymore, if he disliked him still or not. He let out a sigh as he calmed Mindy yet again, shushing her gently. Yet another thing he did not know.

The rest of the night passed slowly, the minutes dragging as Bilbo tried to calm the horses. He didn't regret his decision to stay, though. He loved these horses greatly and couldn't bear the thought of leaving them here when they were scared. He hoped that the thunder would stop soon. While he enjoyed the rain, thunder he could do without, if only because it scared his horses.

It was an hour or so before dawn that the thunderstorm began to cease. He could hear the rain petering out, before stopping altogether just as the sun rose, shining weakly through the overcast sky. Bilbo felt a bit of disappointment at that, but pushed it down. Giving a small sigh of relief, Bilbo packed up his stuff, bid the horses goodbye, and began making the trek back inside the house. He felt exhausted after having stayed awake the entire night.

As he entered the house he made a small detour to the dining room to get a bite to eat, feeling ravenous after the long and tedious night. He smiled tiredly at Balin when the man bid him a cheerful greeting. Bilbo smiled back and sat down, grabbing a scone. As he ate the pastry, he let Balin's chatter wash over him, not really paying attention. He could tell that Balin knew that, as the man kept shooting him sympathetic looks.

Once he finished the scone he excused himself from the table and climbed the stairs to his room, where he promptly fell face first onto his bed, exhaustion settling into his bones. Yes, he had spent the night with horses before, but even his old ones hadn't been as terrified by storms as these were. It had left him bone tired and extremely grateful that Thorin had allowed him the day off so he could rest. With that last thought, Bilbo drifted off into a dreamless sleep, not even bothering to get under the covers.

When Bilbo woke again the sky was dark once more and a light rain was escaping the sky. He let out a soft sigh and gingerly got up, his body not happy at the awkward position he had fallen asleep in. He could feel his stomach grumbling and decided to go downstairs to see if there was any dinner left for him.

When he arrived in the dining room he was surprised to see Balin and Dwalin sharing heated words.

"-can't deny what the Wizard said, brother. You heard him!" Dwalin growled, a deep scowl marring his face. Balin sighed tiredly.

"I am not denying it, I'm simply saying that barging in, with no planning, would be foolish. We have a month, we do not have to rush into this. Nor should we." Balin stated calmly.

Bilbo, not wishing to listen in on yet another private conversation, though he was tempted, shuffled slightly and let out a soft cough. Two sets of eyes shifted to bore into him, one angry, one kind. Bilbo smiled awkwardly.

"I, uh, was wondering if there was any dinner left. I kind of... Missed it, since I was asleep and all." Bilbo explained, feeling uneasy with the gazes that burned him.

Balin smiled. "Of course, laddie. Come, sit, sit. I'll get you something from the kitchen."

"Oh, it's really no problem, I can get it... Myself..." Bilbo trailed off as he watched Balin get up and exit the room. Shifting awkwardly, he hesitantly took his seat, trying his hardest to ignore Dwalin's scowl. Bilbo would be lying if he said that Dwalin didn't intimidate him. Scare, actually, would be a better word. While Thorin had some redeeming qualities, he had yet to see Dwalin show any other emotion besides anger. Bilbo was sure he had a reason for being this way, but it didn't change the fact that the man was terrifying at first and second glance.

"How long had you been standing there?" Bilbo started when he heard the other man's voice, low and dark. Bilbo turned to face the serious man, gulping slightly at the suspicious look he saw there. Bilbo coughed nervously before answering.

"Ah, not that long. Just heard the end bit. Something about not rushing into things, or something like that?" Bilbo answered, having decided that honesty would be best. Judging by Dwalin's glare, he might have been mistaken. But Bilbo refused to cower away from the man. He was anything but a coward.

"You listen to me. You've been on this farm for just under a month, but don't think yourself a part of us." Dwalin growled, his eyes dark and filled with an unknown emotion. "Don't think you'll be safe if I find out you're up to something, you hear? I know you've been sneaking around, listening in where you shouldn't be. I also know you were involved with the boy's disappearance the other day. Thorin doesn't think you capable of being a spy, but I'm not as sure. So if I find you have a hidden agenda, you're going to wish you had never left your little village. Do you understand me?" Dwalin finished, his scowl heavy on his face.

Bilbo, in turn, stared at Dwalin, his mouth drawn into a deep frown. He felt a deep affront at the other man's words, but logically could understand why he would say them. Dwalin didn't know Bilbo and with everything going on trust must not be easy to find. That didn't mean that the other man should accuse him of spying, though. Moments passed before Bilbo could figure out what exactly to say to the man's accusations.

"I do understand. But I want _you_ to understand, Mister Dwalin, that I have no hidden agenda, no... No ulterior motives. Yes, I've been in the wrong place at the right time and heard certain things I probably should not have. But I am not a spy, and it is, frankly, insulting that you would think so. I am a respectable man and I would wish you to remember that." Bilbo asserted, nodding his head at the end in emphasis.

Silence filled the room after Bilbo's words, while Dwalin looked at Bilbo calculatingly, Bilbo staring firmly right back. Finally, after nearly a minute had passed, Dwalin gave one curt nod.

"Very well then. I will remember that. But my warning still stands. Should I find out that you sold us out..." Dwalin trailed off, leaving his threat ambiguous. Bilbo just nodded as well, knowing that he would get nothing better than that.

It was then that Balin reentered the room, carrying a bowl of warm stew and a small glass of water.

"Here you go, laddie. Sorry it took me so long, had to make sure it was warm, you see." Balin explained, though Bilbo suspected that wasn't quite the real reason. But he let it slide and instead gratefully took the offered food with a small smile of gratitude.

Bilbo ate as quickly as he could without seeming rude while Balin struck up an inane conversation with Dwalin. When Bilbo finally finished his food, he politely excused himself and went up the stairs, trying not to look like he was running away. Because he wasn't.

But as he got dressed, a question burned into his mind, a question that he could not ignore.

What had happened on this farm that was so terrible that it made Dwalin suspicious of him? Or was the man simply paranoid around everyone? More questions piled onto an already overflown pile, more questions that were still unanswered. Unrest and unease filled his stomach as he settled into his bed, the questions rolling around and around in his mind. When Bilbo finally fell back to sleep, he dreamt of a dark storm cloud building on the horizon.

* * *

Hope you liked. Tell me what you thought, if you don't mind.

I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible, but, just saying, it might take a little while. I've gotten half of it written, but I'm not sure how much longer the chapter will be. We'll have to see.

Thanks for reading. See you whenever.


	11. A Family Outing or The Turning Point

I live! Kind of. Maybe. Depending on who you ask.

Yeah. So, it's been a while. Almost a month. Sorry about that. Things have been... Not good. Not going to get into it much, but let's just say that I've had at least two nervous breakdowns, my parents are not happy with me or with each other, my brother is starting to concern me with his anger problems, and school sucks. So yeah. Not much time for writing, or anything like that. But I've finished this chapter, which I count as a miracle.

Obviously, I have some problems with this chapter. I've tried editing it, but I'm just too tired and I just want to get this out before another week passes. I may go back and change some things later on, but for now I'm just gonna post it. Please, please, PLEASE, tell me what you think. I need to know if anyone still cares. Please.

And now, without further ado, the chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the way it goes?"

"Of course it is! How else could it go?"

"I don't know! I'm only six, you're older, and you're supposed to know what to do. And that doesn't look right."

"Shut up Kíli. I know what I'm doing okay? Just take this and put it there..."

"Are you sure? This looks even worse than before."

"Kíli!"

Bilbo watched on in amusement as the two children argued. He wasn't quite sure what it was they were trying to make, but he had a feeling that what they currently were working on was not what they had started out creating. As of now, it looked more like a pile of wood, wire, and metal than anything.

It was his turn to watch the children, for their punishment they had earned a week and a half before. He had the feeling he wasn't originally meant to watch over them, but Dori had been needed out in the fields and had entrusted the children in his care. Bilbo didn't mind, even though it was distracting to pay attention to them while still paying attention to the horses. He enjoyed watching the children doing... Whatever it was they were doing. Just as long as no one got hurt.

Just then, he heard Fíli let out a noise of excitement and success as he apparently figured out what went where. Bilbo still had no idea what it was, though.

"Okay. Now we just have to glue this wood thing onto that wood thing."

"If you say so..."

At least watching the children was interesting. The past week had been rather dull, if he was being honest. After the storm had passed, things had returned to normal. Bilbo woke, did his work in the stables, ate with his fellows, and went to bed. Nothing out of the ordinary or bad had gone on. It seemed surreal, after everything that had happened for things to return to such normalcy, but maybe it was for the better.

"That's not where that goes, Fi. You just made it look weird again."

"Stop it, Kíli! It looks fine. We just have to put this bar across the top and glue this metal thing along the bottom and it'll be fine."

Even Thorin was calmer than Bilbo had seen him thus far. To be fair, he hadn't known the man long, but it was still strange. Bilbo could tell that the man was very uptight and to see him almost relaxed was bizarre. He suspected it had something to do with the children. It seemed almost like an apology of some sort. Or maybe it had something to do with the rain. Who knew, really?

"Fi, I'm hungry. Can we take a break?"

"Come on Ki, we're almost done. You can eat when we're finished."

"Kíli is right, Fíli. Why don't you two take a break?" Bilbo interjected smoothly, tuning back into their conversation and noticing that Kíli was beginning to look decidedly unhappy. He may enjoy spending time with them, but he did not particularly enjoy listening to them whine.

"But Mister Baggins, we're almost done! We can't stop now!" Fíli complained, pouting slightly. Bilbo just shook his head.

"Come on, a small break for lunch won't kill you. Besides, I'm hungry myself and I'm not supposed to leave you two unsupervised, else I'll get into trouble. So come on, pack up and let's get moving."

Kíli jumped up happily and walked to the entrance of the stables while Fíli scowled and dragged his feet. Bilbo smiled lightly as he followed after them.

The walk back to the house was interesting, as Kíli spoke rapidly about anything and everything. Apparently Thorin had recently allowed him to start training with a weapon, which alarmed Bilbo somewhat. The boy was so energetic that Bilbo was afraid he might accidentally cut himself or something. But as it happened, Kíli seemed to enjoy the bow and arrow most, which would be more dangerous for people around him rather than for himself. Wonderful.

By the time they entered the house, Fíli was no longer scowling and was instead engaged in conversation with Kíli about some random thing. Bilbo had no idea what, but by now he had given up on trying to figure out what the boys said to each other. They spoke a language only they knew and anyone trying to listen would be left feeling baffled.

Bilbo went over to Bombur and got the three of them sandwiches, smiling his thanks at the rotund, often silent man. Bilbo knew the man spoke, having heard him a few times. He just seemed to prefer his silence. According to Bofur, Bombur's brother, it was due to the fact his wife had been murdered some odd years ago, right before they had come to live at the farm. After learning that, Bilbo could only feel deep sympathy for Bombur and didn't begrudge him his silence.

Returning to the boys, who were now seated in their respective seats, Bilbo set their desired sandwiches in front of them. Both boys dug into them with a gusto only children or the starving seemed to have, while Bilbo ate his at a more sedate pace. The meal passed in a comfortable silence, the boys minding their manners and not talking with their mouths full.

Once done, the three got up and Bilbo returned the plates to Bombur, who took them with a nod of thanks. The boys waited for him outside the house, chatting excitedly about something or another. Bilbo tuned them out as they began their trek back to the stables.

He tuned back in, however, when he heard the name of his employer.

"-Uncle Thorin will have to let us go, Ki. He can't make us stay behind just because of our punishment." Fíli stated determinedly as he marched along. Kíli stood next to him, looking less sure.

"You sure? Tilda would be so disappointed if we can't go, so we have to go!" Kíli exclaimed. Bilbo felt lost.

"Wait, hold up a second. What on Earth are you two talking about?" Bilbo inquired with a raised eyebrow, startling the two boys, who had apparently forgotten his presence. Kíli, however, perked up a second later as he began his explanation.

"The Festival of Spring in Lake Town! They're holding it tomorrow and me and Fi have to go!" Kíli grinned, bouncing up and down in excitement. Bilbo looked at the boy a little warily, knowing what that expression and movement had signified the last time.

"And just what about your punishment? You two are not allowed to leave the premises for the next two and a half weeks." Bilbo reminded, though he knew that they had to have had a plan. He just wanted to coax it out of them without asking outright.

Fíli rolled his eyes. "We know that, Mister Baggins. But, we came up with an idea! If we make it up to Uncle Thorin, we can get him to forgive us and let us go."

"And just how do you plan on doing that?"

The two boys shared a look before grinning. They each took one of Bilbo's hands and started dragging him along, towards the stables. Bilbo, filled with a feeling of trepidation, followed as best as he could. He might have been taller, marginally, than both of the children, but his age had made him a lot slower.

Entering the stables, the boys brought him over to the pile of... /_Something_/ that they had been working on all morning. Right now, it just looked kind of like a misshapen triangle, with wires and metal attached seemingly at random.

He looked to the boys in askance, which Fíli noticed.

"It's a harp!" The boy exclaimed with glee. Bilbo tried to hide his surprise at the comment and took another look at the item in front of him. Well, maybe if he tilted his head and squinted his eyes...

"Ah. I... See. And... Why would a harp make your uncle relinquish your punishment for the day?" Bilbo questioned, feeling confused and slightly amused.

"Well, Uncle Thorin used to love to play the harp, you see. He would play it to Kíli when he was a little baby, to help him sleep. Then the bad men came and Uncle Thorin didn't play anymore. He always was happy, though, when he would play the harp. So I was thinking, if we made him a new harp, maybe he would be so happy, he would let us go to the festival!" Fíli enthused, grinning wildly at the supposed brilliance of his plan. Bilbo had to suppress his own grin at the boy's enthusiasm.

It was... Not the worst plan Bilbo had ever heard. But it wasn't the best, either. Nevertheless, Bilbo decided he would let the boys do what they wanted. If they wanted to build their uncle a harp, all the more power to them. Just as long as no one got hurt, Bilbo would go along with it. He did feel mildly surprised, though, to learn that Thorin played the harp. It just... Didn't seem like it would be something the serious man would enjoy. Guess Thorin was full of surprises.

"Ah. Makes perfect sense. Question, though. Do either of you know how to build a harp?" Bilbo asked, looking down at the 'harp' with a frown. It... Really, really didn't look like a harp. To be fair, Bilbo had only seen pictures of harps, but they still hadn't looked anything like this. Fíli frowned.

"Well... No. But how hard could it be? It's just a triangle with wires. ... Right?" Fíli asked, almost nervously as he, too, looked down at his creation. Bilbo tutted.

"I think there's a bit more to it than that, my boy."

Fíli pouted again, before brightening considerably.

"I know! Why don't you help us, Mister Baggins? You can guide us into making the harp! Please, Mister Baggins? Pleeeeeeease?" Fíli begged, his eyes alight with passion. Bilbo, still wary of that expression, put his hands up and firmly shook his head.

"Oh, no. This is your plan, I'm having no part of it. Not after what happened last time. Besides, I have work." Bilbo firmly stated, giving the boy a hard state. Fíli just looked at him with pleading eyes while Kíli took up the offense.

"Please Mister Bilbo? Don't you want us to go to the festival? You would be our best friend if you did! And we'll even ask Uncle to let you come with us! It's really fun, Mister Bilbo, you'll love it! They have candles, and banners, and cake! And lots and lots of pretty flowers! Just help us, please?" Kíli pleaded, his eyes wide and begging. 'That is not fair.' Bilbo thought miserably. 'Who can resist a six year old's puppy dog eyes?' Against his better judgement, Bilbo felt himself caving.

"Oh, alright, fine. I'll try. I don't know how to build a harp though, so I don't know how much help I'll be." Bilbo groused as he looked over at the horses he was supposed to be caring for. Heaving a heavy sigh, Bilbo sat down beside the boys and resigned himself to doing his best to help them figure out what went where. He ignored the boys' cheer of happiness and their thanks, just grumbling goodheartedly about getting started.

The next couple of hours were not the best that Bilbo had experienced. Not the worst, definitely not, but clearly not the best. By the time the three had finished the crude and elementary harp, it was almost sunset and Bilbo had numerous cuts on his hands from stringing the wires. He had been surprised to see that the wires and wire end things were those that actually belonged on an instrument. When he had noticed that, he had looked at the boys and asked where they had gotten them. Fíli grinned.

"Nori" was all the boy would say on the matter. Bilbo, knowing about the other man's criminal past, decided that he didn't want to know where Nori had come across wires and tuning pieces, nor why he would do as Fíli asked. Some things were better to just ignore.

Finally finished with the harp, Bilbo stood and stretched. He was glad that it had been Bofur's day off today and that no one else had come into to visit. He really hadn't wanted to explain why he was slacking off on his duties. Making a quick round around the horses, Bilbo made sure they had enough feed and water before leaving the stables with Fíli and Kíli, who had tucked their small harp away inside a plain duffel bag that had been hanging around the stables and were now holding very carefully.

Walking back over the fields to the house, the boys began chatting excitedly about what they would do tomorrow at the festival, even getting Bilbo involved by explaining some of the things they had done in years previous. Apparently, it was a tradition for their uncle to take the boys to this festival each year.

Dinner that night was boisterous as the men laughed and joked around, the boys sitting beside their uncle with excited and enthusiastic grins on their faces. Bilbo noticed Thorin shooting the two of them cautious glances every few minutes, catching the grins and not liking what they signified. Bilbo felt his own grin rising to his face, though he hastily wiped it off his face when Thorin turned his gaze onto him.

The rest of dinner past quickly, and before he knew it, the boys were tugging on his sleeves and dragging him over to their uncle, who was still seated. Bilbo, even though he wasn't quite sure why they wanted him there, went along with it. He officially gave up trying to resist the boys, for today at least.

"Uncle!" Kíli exclaimed as he flung himself at his uncle's arm, staring up at the man with wide and shining eyes. "Come with us, we have something to show you!"

Thorin just stared down at his nephew with a raised eyebrow, before glancing up at Bilbo in question. Bilbo just shrugged and gave a slightly helpless grin. Thorin let out a small breath of air and got up slowly, looking down at his youngest nephew again.

"What is it, Kíli?" Thorin rumbled as he followed the three cautiously into the living room. Bilbo wanted to laugh at the almost suspicious look on the man's face, though he reined it in. It was clear that he didn't trust his nephews very much, probably for a good reason.

Fíli went in front of the patched couch, grabbing the duffle bag from under the table, where he had placed it right before dinner began. He hadn't wanted Thorin to find out about the surprise until after dinner, when he would be the most agreeable, according to Fíli. Something about a warm meal and good company putting the man at ease, Bilbo assumed.

Thorin watched with a small frown on his face as Fíli returned back to his side with the duffel bag carried carefully in his arms. Fíli grinned up at him.

"So, Uncle, you have been very kind to us these past couple weeks. We know that we messed up, disobeying your orders like we did, and we're both very, very sorry. We promise to never, ever do it again. But, to make it up to you, we decided to make you something!" Fíli smiled, holding out the duffel bag. Thorin took it, looking down at Fíli with a suspicious look and a small frown. He didn't move to open the duffel up.

"What do you two want?" Thorin intoned as he looked at his oldest nephew, raising an eyebrow slowly. Fíli tried to put on an innocent look, though he failed miserably.

"What do you mean, Uncle? Can't we just feel bad and want to make up to you for it? Why do you automatically assume we want something?" Fíli questioned, eyes big as they looked at Thorin, who just gave the boy an unimpressed look. Fíli grimaced lightly before getting a determined look on his face.

"Open the duffel first." Fíli insisted, looking at his uncle with a no nonsense look, which looked frankly ridiculous on the boy's face, if Bilbo was any judge. Thorin just scowled down at him, entering into a mini staring contest. Bilbo wondered who would win, both sides seemed equally as fierce.

A minute later, Thorin looked away, sighing heavily.

"_/Fine_./" Thorin stressed, ignoring the look of triumph that passed over his nephew's face. He looked down at the duffel with a frown, like he wasn't quite sure what to expect. Bilbo looked on with interest, curious how the man would take their gift. It certainly was an odd thing to give.

Thorin took his time opening the duffel, setting it down carefully on the coffee table as he took out the harp. Bilbo tried to decipher his face, but was at a loss, Thorin's face suddenly closed off and neutral. It was impossible to read, like marble, which left Bilbo feeling uneasy. Finally, after what seemed like ages, Thorin looked up at his nephews, who gazed back with slightly hesitant looks. Well, Kíli did. Fíli looked more... Calculating, if Bilbo had to guess.

"What," Thorin intoned, "is this?"

"I-it's a harp. We- me, Fi, and Mister Bilbo- made it. Do you, do you like it?" Kíli asked hesitantly, looking up at his uncle with huge eyes.

Thorin's face remained as solid as marble, nothing to clue them in on his thoughts. Bilbo just stood there, staring, waiting. The boys were squirming, though Fíli didn't look apprehensive. He still had that calculating look on his face. Bilbo didn't like it.

Finally, after a minute had passed, Thorin let out a breath and looked back down at the harp.

"What did you want?" Thorin asked in a soft, though forceful voice. He was clenching his jaw now, eyes dark and filled with something Bilbo would swear was pain.

"We wanted to go to the festival tomorrow. The Festival of Spring." Fíli informed, his face blank, though he was raising his eyebrow slightly. Thorin stared at him for a moment before nodding once.

"Fine. Wake yourselves up early tomorrow and we'll go to the festival. Is that all?"

"We want Mister Baggins to come with us."

Thorin turned and stared at the shorter man. Bilbo tried not to squirm under his gaze. A moment passed before Thorin nodded once again.

"Fine. Be downstairs an hour before dawn if you wish to join us, Mister Baggins."

With that, Thorin swept away, his hair swishing dramatically behind him. Bilbo let out a soft breath as he left, relieved that that was over with. He turned to face the two boys and saw them grinning widely.

"Goodnight, Mister Bilbo! See you tomorrow! Thanks for the help!" Kíli exclaimed before darting up the stairs, presumably to his room. Fíli stayed behind, giving Bilbo a small grin.

"You shouldn't let Uncle's reaction put you off. It's been a while, since he last owned a harp. I knew that he would react somewhat... adversely to it. But it did do what was intended, right? We're going to the Festival, and that's all that matters." Fíli stated, shrugging his shoulders.

"If you knew he would act badly, why did you do it? And I thought your plan was to make him happy, not upset?" Bilbo questioned, curious. He had the feeling he'd never understand this little family, but Yavanna help him if he didn't at least try.

"Uncle is never happy, not anymore. Not since... And I knew that it would make him more agreeable. He always is, when he remembers."

Bilbo paused and looked down at the boy in front of him. "Remembers what?"

"Mum."

The boy smiled then, though it seemed sad, somehow. Bilbo felt his heart drop for a second at seeing it. It reminded him painfully that while the child may act carefree, he was still hurting. A second later, though, Fíli's grin was back and he was bouncing on his toes again.

"Anyway, Ki and me have got some things to prepare for tomorrow. See you then, Mister Baggins." Fíli gave Bilbo a half salute and took off to find his younger brother. Bilbo stared after the boy, a small frown on his face.

Bilbo didn't know how he felt, knowing that Fíli had pretty much emotionally manipulated Thorin into doing what he had wanted. It didn't sit right with him, to inflict pain like that just to gain something. But what's done is done and it would do nothing to dwell on it.

Sighing softly, he set off for his room, wanting to be ready for the morning and whatever it would entail. Knowing those two, it was not going to be pleasant. Oh well. At least it was a day off.

~XoxoxoxoxoxoX~

The next morning found Bilbo waking earlier than usual, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he sat up. Stretching lightly, Bilbo got up and dressed slowly, trying to force himself awake. Once done, he stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen, glad that it was still dark, save for the predawn light that flooded in from the window and the small lantern that hung from the wall.

He was not, however, glad of the chattering children who were a fair bit louder than Bilbo thought they should have been. He tried not to yawn as he sat down at the table, ignoring Kíli's excited shout of "Mister Bilbo!"

Thorin was sitting at the head of the table, as usual. He looked at Bilbo with what looked like mild amusement.

"Did you not sleep well, Mister Baggins?" The man's smooth voice questioned, an eyebrow raised at Bilbo, who glared lightly in return.

"I slept just fine. I'm simply not a fan of waking before dawn, thank you very much." Bilbo sniffed as he took a piece of toast and buttered it up. Thorin smiled his minuscule smile, sitting back in his chair, arms crossed loosely. Bilbo looked away, not liking the way his eyes wanted to linger.

"No one is forcing you to come, you know." Thorin said casually, eyes still trained on Bilbo. "You could have stayed in bed for as long as you liked."

Bilbo could feel a blush on his cheeks, though he couldn't for the life of him understand why. Instead of thinking about it, he cleared his throat nervously. "Well, I didn't want to disappoint the children, did I?"

Thorin hummed softly, looking over to the boys, who were locked in a fierce conversation, heads bowed close together. Bilbo felt a fond smile rise to his lips at the sight, barely even noticing when Thorin's gaze fell on him again.

"No. No, you would not."

It was at this time that Óin and Glóin entered the room, chatting lightly to one another. Thorin stood, causing the boys to cease their conversation and look up at Thorin with anticipation.

"We'd best get going now, if we wish to make it to Lake-town by the time the sun rises." Thorin rumbled, looking pointedly at the children, who scrambled up with excitement plain on their faces. Bilbo smiled at the sight, finishing his toast quickly. Part of him wished he had had the time to have a nice cup of tea, but readily followed the trio as they exited the room.

In the stables, Thorin walked over to the horses and began getting them ready. Bilbo just stood and watched, not sure what he should be doing, seeing as Thorin had taken his job.

Thorin, a moment later, turned to him and raised his eyebrows in question. "Mister Baggins, are you going to be getting the other horses ready, or am I expected to do all the work?"

Springing into action, Bilbo bit out a quick apology before walking over to one of the mares, the one that he was told Kíli used while riding. It was short enough to accommodate the small child, but tall enough to not be qualified a pony. He then walked over to his horse and got her ready as well.

Soon, all four horses were saddled and reined. Bilbo noticed with mild surprise that Thorin was using the black draught horse, Frerin.

They all got on their respective horses, setting out for Lake-town as soon as possible. It was still mostly dark out, though the sky was lightening somewhat. The quartet followed the path at a steady pace, Thorin in front and Bilbo in back. The boys began chattering about the festival and how excited they were. Bilbo smiled and let himself relax, just a little. Today would be a good day. He knew it.

It was little over an hour later that they arrived at Lake-town. The town was located, obviously enough, in the middle of a lake, with only a single bridge connecting it to the main land. The bridge was covered in flowers and streamers, a large banner hanging over the bridge saying "The Festival of Spring" in big, flowery letters. Bilbo stared in awe at the sight, amazed and overwhelmed. This was the first time he had seen the town and it certainly was a sight to behold. Next to the bridge was a stable, where the quartet left their horses with the couple of stable hands that were there.

Back outside, Thorin led them over the bridge and into the town, nodding politely at some of the citizens. Bilbo stared wide eyed at the sights around him. It truly was beautiful, with streamers and paper lanterns hanging everywhere, not to mention the strands of flowers that adorned every building. He found himself smiling absently as he took the sight in.

"Fíli, Kíli." Thorin called from the front, looking back at his nephews, who looked like they were about to levitate from the amount of excitement they were showing. Bilbo almost felt tired just watching them. "Where do you wish to go first?"

"Let's go see the performers!" Kíli exclaimed, grinning up at his uncle. Thorin nodded briefly and together they all walked towards the center of the town where a small stage had been set up. A bunch of actors were currently acting something out, pulling volunteers from the audience to help. Thorin and Bilbo stood near the back of the crowd while the two boys darted ahead to the front, to get a better view.

Bilbo felt somewhat nervous, standing here beside his employer, the two of them alone. Well, not alone, Bilbo amended as he glanced at the crowd around them. It still felt weird, though.

The silence between the two men continued as the performers did their little play. Bilbo couldn't quite tell what was going on, but it looked entertaining enough. He even found himself laughing along at parts.

He wasn't sure when he became aware of the fact that Thorin was staring at him. He just looked over absently and caught the intense, though slightly puzzled, gaze. He could feel a blush flood his cheeks as he tilted his head in confusion, a small awkward smile frozen on his lips. Thorin looked away quickly, leaving Bilbo even more confused. Deciding not to mention it, he returned his attention to the stage, trying to ignore the way his heart fluttered in his chest. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the blush to completely go away.

When the play ended, Bilbo couldn't have felt happier. It wasn't that he disliked being in Thorin's company, it was just that the man still made him nervous. Just being around Thorin made his heart flutter unpleasantly. He didn't want to think on the implications of that and so he firmly placed it in the "Things to Never Think About" area of his mind. Not that there was anything to think about, oh no. Nothing at all.

But with the children present he could successfully ignore Thorin without being obvious. It made it easier to breathe.

The little group walked around the Festival together after that, seeing the sights and tasting the foods. By the time lunch came around, Bilbo was sure he'd not be able to eat another bite. But as soon as the scrumptious smelling meats came out, he couldn't help himself and dug right in, to the amusement of his employer apparently.

"Where do you keep it all?" Thorin asked as they watched the boys run around the small patch of pavement that was designated for children to play in. Bilbo glanced over at the man seated next to him, watching him as he watched the children with a relaxed, almost content look on him face. It was only when the man looked over at him with a raised eyebrow that Bilbo realized that he was staring and that he hadn't answered the question. With a blush he looked away.

"I'll have you know that I have a very high metabolism." Bilbo replied in a faux haughty voice, secretly relishing the small laugh his companion gave.

"How lucky for you. Not just anyone could eat three helpings of pig, two helpings of beef, and three chicken skewers and not be as rotund as Bombur." Thorin returned with a slight smirk. He turned his gaze back towards his nephews, who were doing a weird dance with the other children. Bilbo watched as the boys jumped and laughed, trying to stop the smile that had bloomed across his face at Thorin's teasing words.

The boys returned soon after and the four of them set out around the Festival once more. They wandered the streets and played some games and watched as performers performed. They even bought a few things, such as an ornamental knife for Fíli and a child-sized bow and arrow set for Kíli.

At one point they all managed to get flower crowns placed upon their heads. Even Thorin wore one, after his nephews had begged and begged. Bilbo had to hide his grin at the surly look that Thorin had. He couldn't deny that Thorin looked good with the flower crown, though the thought made him blush furiously.

Around midafternoon a small girl came up to Fíli and Kíli and began talking to them excitedly. He learned from Thorin that this was Tilda, the youngest daughter of a bargeman and one of Fíli and Kíli's best friends. Bilbo watched with amusement as the three talked rapidly, eyes bright. From what Bilbo could tell, Tilda looked to be about Fíli's age, give or take a year.

After that, Tilda had joined them as they wandered around. The three children chatted together as they explored everything.

It was nearly dinner time when Tilda left, demanding promises that the two boys would return soon, which Thorin raised an eyebrow at but did not dispute. The remaining four ate dinner, the boys talking about everything they had done that day. Their purchases were held tightly in their small hands as they looked them over, pleased with how everything had worked out. Once dinner ended, Thorin packed everything up and told them that they would have to set off for home now. The boys groaned and complained, but Bilbo knew they were exhausted and were secretly glad to go home.

"Thank you for letting me come." Bilbo said softly as they retrieved their horses from the stable hands. Thorin looked at him with a small frown, so Bilbo continued. "I know this is usually a thing you do with your nephews so... I'm grateful you allowed me to tag along."

"The pleasure was mine, Mister Baggins." Thorin replied after a moment of silence, his stare intense, the small frown still marring his face.

The ride back to the farm was quiet, as the boys were tired from their journeying. Kíli was currently asleep in Thorin's lap, the man leading the child's horse along after them. The world was still and everything was good. Bilbo felt himself relax completely as they rode home.

~XoxoxoxoxoxoX~

It was when they were about three miles from the farm that it happened.

The night had settled in a while beforehand, only the light of the stars and moon guiding them on. The three who were awake were riding leisurely, feeling content and happy. Bilbo could hear Fíli say something to Thorin, a small laugh exiting the man's mouth.

It died the moment they rounded the hill and were able to catch sight of the farm house.

Bilbo's heart froze at the sight in front of him. He found that he couldn't breathe, fear taking hold of his lungs. Like a nightmare come true, big black pillars of smoke rose steadily into the sky, a brilliant red flaming beneath it. He couldn't quite tell where the fire was coming from, but he could tell that it was big and angry. He found himself frozen as he watched the smoke rise into the sky, suddenly transported back into a nightmare he'd hope to never see again. It was only when he heard the sound of a horse moving that he tore his eyes away, settling them instead on Thorin.

Thorin's face was ashen, though he had managed to get over his shock enough to lead his horse over to Bilbo's. The man had a hard look on his face and his jaw was clenched as he shuffled Kíli gently in his arms, handing the boy to a shocked Bilbo.

"Watch over them." Thorin growled softly as Bilbo settled the sleeping child in his arms. "Ride back to Dale and find Glóin. Stay at his home for the night, do not allow Fíli to leave. Keep them safe. Do you understand?" Thorin demanded, his stare hard and penetrating. Bilbo found that all he could do was nod dumbly, not trusting his tongue to speak at the moment.

Thorin nodded back and turned to face his elder nephew, who was still staring in horror at the farm. Thorin rode over to the boy and shared silent words with him, too soft for Bilbo to make out. He could see Fíli shaking his head a lot, before looking over towards Bilbo and Kíli and nodding reluctantly. The boy rode over to them, his face motionless, but his eyes alight with fear.

The two watched as Thorin rode off in the direction of the farm, riding as fast as his horse could manage. Kíli shuffled slightly in his sleep, though thankfully did not wake. Bilbo did not want the child to see this, did not want him to have more nightmares to deal with.

And so, with a heavy heart and a fear ablaze in his mind, Bilbo turned his back on the place he thought if as a home, riding back towards Dale. The peace of the day had broken, leaving cruel and harsh reality burning mercilessly in its place. Only one thought entered his mind throughout the ride:

'Please, let them all be safe.'

* * *

Yay, cliffhangers for the win!

Yeah, I'm not the happiest with that ending. I've been planning it for forever, knowing that I'd have this as a plot point, a turning point for the worse. But after writing it, it just seems... I don't know, tagged on. Abrupt. I mean, it was meant to be abrupt, but... I don't know. Again, I may go back and change aspects of this chapter, but for now I'm leaving it.

Did you all like the Bilbo/Thorin parts? I'm not so sure on them. I wanted to show them getting closer, before the next chapter, but it seemed a bit forced. I don't know, I'm not a big fan of romance (writing it, at least), so I'm not the best judge.

Anyway, I'm gonna stop here before I pick apart this entire story, again. I'm trying to learn to just leave it all be. I have a problem, trying to get people to understand my way of thinking, why I do the things I do, and it's kind of tiring. So, unless I'm very concerned on how something is going to go over, I'm gonna try not to talk about what I wrote as much as I have. I will admit it, I'm very insecure, especially with my writing. But I'm gonna try and stop that, since it's a bit annoying, for everyone, I think.

I don't know when the next chapter is going to be. I've not even started it, so it might be a while. I've got a lot of things happening soon, for school and with my health, so I might not get a chance to write for a while. But this is all moot if no one even cares anymore. So please, I'm begging you, if you're still out there reading this, comment or review.

See you when I see you. Hope you liked. Bye.

Edit: Oh! I almost forgot. I wanted to take a moment to go over the character's ages, since I've obviously changed things up a bit.

Balin: 55

Óin: 48

Bifur: 42

Glóin: 40

Dwalin: 38

Bombur: 36

Thorin: 35

Bofur: 34

Bilbo: 32

Dori: 30

Nori: 25

Ori: 16

Fíli: 11

Kíli: 6

Gandalf, in this story, is about 200-ish. I think in canon he's like, 2,000? Here, he's more or less mortal, just lives a bit longer and has magical powers. Bard's children are roughly the same ages they are in the movie (11, 15, and 16). Elrond is in his late fifties. I think that's everyone, as of yet. That's all. Bye.


	12. The Aftermath

12: And Where the Road Then Takes Me

Chapter Twelve: The Aftermath.

Bilbo stood in front of the door, shock and terror filling his heart. He distantly felt himself knocking on the hard wood door, waiting with a heavy heart for it to open.

Things had been going so well, that day. It had been perfect, in Bilbo's mind. The time spent with the children, and even Thorin, was wonderful and idyllic. It was a day Bilbo thought he would treasure forever. But now, as he recalled the scent of smoke in the air, the sight of fire teasing his gaze, he could only feel panic and horror and fear, replacing those wonderful feelings from earlier. His arms felt heavy from the weight of his sleeping burden, the child who currently was blissfully unaware of the danger that they all now faced.

A moment that felt like ages passed before the door finally opened, the tired and slightly annoyed face of Glóin gazing back from inside the house, an angry demand on his lips, stopped short at the sight of who was on his doorstep. Bilbo watched in a detached manner as the copper haired man's face shifted into one of confusion, then of a fearful understanding as the man realized that something must be wrong. Opening his door, he quickly ushered the three inside. It was only when he stepped into the warm house that Bilbo noticed that he had been shivering from the bitter cold, and maybe even from the fear.

Inside, Glóin directed them over to the small couch, where Bilbo gently laid Kíli down, watching as the child snuggled into the warmth of the cushions. Fíli moved to sit beside his brother, setting a hand on the sleeping boy's head. Bilbo sat on the other side of the couch, exhaustion filling his bones.

After they had situated themselves, Glóin began asking questions, such as why they were here, what was wrong with the farm, was anyone hurt. Bilbo answered the best he could, explaining how they had spotted the fire on their way back from the Festival, and how Thorin had told Bilbo to take the boys to Glóin while he went to check things out. Glóin took the words in stride, paling at the thought of the farm in flames, but otherwise just nodding and not probing for information he knew that Bilbo did not have.

After the questioning was over with, Glóin set about setting up his guest room for his three unexpected visitors. The room itself was small, but it had a large bed in the center of it, large enough for the two boys. Bilbo would sleep on the couch for the night, something Bilbo assured Glóin he was alright with. After moving Kíli into the guest room and getting Fíli situated, Bilbo retreated to the living room couch, sitting silently as he stared into the dwindling fire. A couple minutes passed before he felt the couch dip. Bilbo looked over and saw Glóin sitting there, a cup of tea in his hands, which he handed over to Bilbo with a small tilt of his head.

"You look like you need something to calm you down," Glóin said in explanation. Bilbo nodded his thanks, taking a deep sip of the burning hot tea, not caring for the pain. He felt he needed it, if only to keep him somewhat grounded.

Silence overtook the two men, neither quite sure what to say. Out of all the men on the farm, Bilbo had spent the least amount of time with Glóin, since Glóin spent most of his days working and rarely was around for breakfast or dinner. Sitting in the man's small but cozy house, Bilbo could see why.

Minutes passed before Glóin stood up, somewhat stiffly, claiming that he was tired and would be going to bed. Bilbo nodded absently in the man's direction.

The whole day had been exhausting to Bilbo, particularly the last few hours, but it still took him an hour to fall asleep. Fire invaded his mind again, the sickening scent of smoke choking him. He woke once in the middle of the night, the house around him still and silent. He stared up at the ceiling for minutes before slipping into a dreamless sleep, much to his relief.

~XoxoxoxoxoxoX~

When morning came, Bilbo felt worn down, tired not only in his mind and body, but in his heart. Had he known that living on the farm would be this hard, would he have ever agreed to come?

As Fíli and Kíli, bleary eyed and downcast, shuffled into the room, Bilbo decided that, yes. Yes, he would have, if only for those two boys, and the rest of the workers of the farm.

Breakfast that morning was subdued and tense. Someone had clearly filled Kíli in on what had happened, as the child was unusually quiet and somber. Even Glóin's son, Gimli, was quiet and restrained, picking up on the tense atmosphere.

"I'm going to go to the farm after breakfast, see what has happened and what needs to be done." Glóin stated gruffly, breaking the silence momentarily.

"And no, you may not join me." Glóin continued, eyes on Fíli, making the boy deflate slightly. The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence.

Breakfast ended and Glóin took one of his horses to ride to the farm, leaving the rest of them tense with anticipation. Bilbo felt anxious, twisting his hands in his lap as he sat, staring at the fire blankly, waiting for Glóin's return.

At some point, Bilbo isn't sure when, Fíli comes over and sits next to him. He hadn't even noticed until the boy clears his throat slightly. Bilbo shifts his gaze to the boy's face, his eyes locking with Fíli's somber ones.

"This isn't the first time something like this has happened." Fíli said, after a few moments had passed in silence. Bilbo tilted his head in question, prompting the boy to continue.

"Ever since I was a baby, before that even, things have been happening to the farm. Bad things. Sometimes it would be bandit attacks, other times it would be an infestation of field mice, or even locust. Our uncle died, in one of the bandit attacks, before I was born. Every time, though, we kept fighting. This... This won't keep us down. No matter what happened." Fíli spoke, his voice soft but determined. Bilbo felt his heart clench as he watched the boy he had grown to love as a nephew speak of such matters with such... Resignation.

"I do not doubt that, my boy. I just wish it wasn't so common place for you. This is not fair." Bilbo said softly, a sigh in his words. Fíli gave him a crocked, humorless smirk.

"Yeah, but didn't you know, Mr. Baggins? Life's not exactly fair. Just gotta deal with the punches, and all that, right? S'all you can do. Make the best of a bad situation, that's what mum used to say."

"Your mother sounds like she was a very wise woman."

The smirk transformed into a soft, sad smile. "She was."

Bilbo smiled sadly back, turning to face the fire once more.

After five minutes had passed, Fíli stood up and wandered off, bidding Bilbo a silent farewell. Bilbo decided soon after to try and be productive, rather than sit around and worrying. Nothing good would come from it and he might as well help Glóin's wife with some house work, to repay her for allowing them to stay in her home.

The housework was a good distraction from his worry, the mindlessness of cleaning banishing the unpleasant thoughts from mind. At one point Glóin's wife, a small redhead named Míli, brought Bilbo over a small plate of a sandwich and some juice. Bilbo thanked her and ate silently, watching little Gimli as he staggered around the house, having finally started walking a few days before.

It was over an hour later before Glóin came back, a distressed though not distraught look on his face, which made Bilbo just a bit hopeful.

Once inside, Glóin began, having refused to say anything without the children present.

"The farm is fine," Glóin said clearly, watching the boys as they let out a breath of relief, "as is everyone who was on it at the time. The fields caught fire, and even with the rain we had recently, the wheat was dry enough to spread the flames. The fire started shortly after sundown, and it wasn't until almost sunup that they were able to stop the flames. The majority of the fields are now dead and useless, the crops ruined. There were a few minor injuries among the men, including damaged lungs from breathing in the smoke. Thorin and Gandalf should be by later today, after lunch, to further explain what will be happening. Any questions?"

Kíli cautiously looked up and asked, "Will we be going home soon? Or is Uncle gonna make us stay here?"

"I do not know, lad. But I think your uncle is considering having you and your brother sent away to a safe house, just until we're sure everything is okay."

"And how long would that be?" Fíli chimed in, a wary look on his face. Kíli just looked downcast, taking Fíli's hand for comfort. Fíli responded by pulling Kíli into a side hug, letting Kíli curl up against his elder brother.

"I don't know. Could be a day, could be a week. All we want is for the two of you to be safe, alright?" Glóin explained softly. Fíli nodded, looking down at Kíli and speaking soft words, most likely of encouragement. Bilbo caught Glóin's eye and gestured to the door, indicating that he wished to speak in private.

Listening to the silent request, Glóin stood and walked with Bilbo into the small guest room that the two boys were staying in. Bilbo took a deep breath and asked the question that had been plaguing his mind all night.

"What is going to happen to the farm now? If the crop is ruined..." Bilbo trailed off, looking at Glóin's downcast face and bit his lip gently, knowing he wasn't going to like the response.

"We're not sure. As I'm sure you could tell by now, we were barely staying afloat as it was. This... This is a bad blow. We might have to sell more of our land, some of the animals too... Thorin is considering asking his cousins in the Iron Hills and the Blue Hills for help, but we're not sure if they'll be willing to help more than they have. Everything's up in the air at the moment, we'll have to see what happens as we go along." Glóin said gruffly. Bilbo nodded absently and left the room soon after, finding the silence oppressive and heavy with unspoken fears.

The rest of the morning passed slowly, the inhabitants of the house anxious at the thought of what would come later that day. Bilbo thought it felt oddly like awaiting a death sentence, for some strange reason. That feeling of foreboding mixed with terror of the unknown.

When at last, they heard the clatter of a small carriage pull up alongside the house, everyone rose, anxious to find out what would happen next.

The knock on the door made Bilbo's heart race and he watched with bated breath as Glóin went and answered it.

Bilbo could feel his heart clench in his chest as he saw Thorin, the exhausted look on his face more pronounced now than it ever was. He could tell that Thorin had not slept at all the night before.

Behind Thorin was Gandalf, whose eyes, normally cheerful and sparkling, were dull and darkened with sadness and something akin to grief. Bilbo felt his heart clench again at the sight. The two men entered the house slowly, Thorin saying nothing while Gandalf gave a polite 'thank you' to Glóin.

"Uncle, what's gonna happen now?" Bilbo heard Kíli ask from behind them, him and Fíli having walked into the room while Glóin was opening the door. Thorin looked at the two boys, his face marred by a deep frown, eyes weary and worn.

"Why don't we go into the living room? It is a better place for this conversation." Thorin said curtly, walking jerkingly towards the living room door. The rest couldn't help but follow, Bilbo hanging back for a second to collect his thoughts. As he passed, Gandalf gave Bilbo a small smile, his eyes still sad and ancient. Taking a deep breath, Bilbo entered the room and stood behind the sofa, staring at Thorin in anticipation.

"As I am sure Glóin has told you, there were no injuries. Everyone who was at the farm at the time is fine. The farm itself, is fine. However, it is not safe." Thorin pauses and looks at his nephews. "You both will be going to stay with an... Acquaintance of mine. You will be safe with him. And as for you..." Thorin turns then to face Bilbo, causing the smaller man's heart to simultaneously stop and race. There is a pause here, longer than the previous one, causing Bilbo to fear what will be said next. "You will be leaving. This is too dangerous for an outsider, and I will not be held responsible for anything that happens to you. You will be giving the next two week's pay and you will leave."

Bilbo stared at Thorin incredulously. "Are you serious? After everything, you're just going to... Kick me out?" He demanded, a hint of anger coloring his voice. Thorin frowned slightly, before nodding curtly once.

"Yes."

That was it. No explanations, no excuses. Just one, simple, curt yes. Bilbo felt his blood boil and he scowled at Thorin, before sitting up straight and pointing a stern finger at the stubborn man.

"If you think that you can get rid of me that easily, then you are sorely mistaken. I signed up for this job, for better or for worse, and I darn well will keep it."

Thorin watched Bilbo as he squared his jaw, his face remaining impassive for a moment longer, before letting out a soft sigh of defeat.

"Gandalf warned me that you would say that. Very well, then I will ask you to stay with my nephews, to watch over them. Can I trust you to do that?"

Bilbo nodded curtly. "Of course."

"Then we must set out immediately. My... acquaintance will be expecting us within the hour. All of your things will be brought to you from the house as soon as we can. Are there any questions?"

The room remained silent as Thorin switched his gaze from each solemn face, nodding when he reached Bilbo.

"Very well. Let us go."

Standing alongside the others, Bilbo looked around the room once and thought of how difficult things were going to be from now on, but he did not regret his decision. He did not quite know why he felt so attached to this family, but he knew that he would do anything to help them keep their home. 

* * *

A/N: So. It's been a while. Nearly 5 months, I think. Yeah... So, a lot have been going on in my life and it's led me to not have much energy to write. I mean... first, an old family friend died, then my mom fell down and her back started hurting really badly, then my parents started getting into shouting matches because they were both in pain, then I had to deal with AP classes and finishing my Junior year, then I had to deal with getting my wisdom teeth removed (not as bad as I had thought it would be, but still annoying) then I had to get a whole bunch of cavities filled, then I started learning how to drive (NOT FUN DRIVING SUCKS) and then I found out I needed a Root Canal. So... a lot. More things happened, but that's pretty much the highlights. Oh! Not to mention I actually had over 3,000 words written for a chapter, before realizing that chapter SUCKED and I got rid of all of it. Leaving at square one, 2 months into this hiatus. -.- So, I wrote this as quickly as I could, but it's still not the best, not to mention the shortest chapter to date. I don't know... I'm not much of a writer and I'm getting tired of writing this. I do want to finish this story, but... I don't know. I might need to take a longer hiatus, especially since I'm starting my senior year of high school in a month, and I need to prepare for all of that.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. I have not read over it, since I have literally no time (I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow, which is why I'm posting this on a Saturday at noon) so if you spot any mistakes, feel free to point them out and I'll rewrite it when I get back in a week. So... yeah. See you eventually, I hope.


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